18 Sep Oktoberfest
By Bill and Dorothee Upchurch
It’s that time of the year again..the world is preparing for the biggest festival, celebrated worldwide and the breweries are running special shifts. OKTOBERFEST
Let’s go back in history and see how everything started. The Bavarian King, Ludwig I, got married to the the Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen on Oct 12th, 1810. For this special event the citizens of Muenchen (later known as Munich) were invited to celebrate the festivities. A large lawn field (called a Wiesen) in front of the gates of the city were used and were in honor of the princess called Theresienwiese. Today the grounds are just called Wies’n and are still hosting the biggest event of the year. Visitors from all over the world mark their calendars and travel to Munich to be at the Oktoberfest.
Modern Day Oktoberfest kicks off with the March of Restauranteurs and Breweries led by the Buergermeister (the mayor) and the Muenchner Child. This is a full on parade with all of the fun that goes with it. After the parade the mayor taps the first barrel of beer to start the party. He proudly proclaims “It is tapped” at which time 12 gunshots are fired signaling to all of the restaurants and bars they can now allow the beer to flow! After the first day festivities are over, the party goes on for 16 days with five million of your closest friends.
Obviously the the most well known aspect of the festival are the 13 huge beer tents that are only set up once a year for the Oktoberfest. That’s right, It’s all about the beer! But don’t worry there are some family friendly things going on at the same time, The Oktoberfest has a very large carnival and game section complete with ferris wheels, roller coasters and other similar rides that you would find at local fairs held around the world. The festival even offers a “kids night” in some of the tents.
Now here is the really good news, there is no entrance fee. You only pay for food and drink.
Here are a few fun facts from last years Oktoberfest in Muenchen. Last year there were:
-Visitors: 5.6 mil
-Beer Consumption: 6.6 million Mass/liter
-Whole Rotissery Chicken: 366,786
-Pairs of Sausages: 151,857 pairs
-Haxen / Pork Hocks: 67,227
-Ox (entire) : 116
Curious facts:
-Broken Glasses/plates: 100.33 tons
-Lost and found (just to name a few things):
-764 ID’s and Credit Cards
-410 Cell Phones
-1Blood pressure monitor
-2 Hearing Aids and 4 dentures
My favorites things in the lost and found of the year 2016 are: one book “Never again Blondes” and a pink slip from a doctor for the entire time of the Oktoberfest 🙂 Now we can rest assure, that this year will be another record breaking year in Munich.
Not everybody can go to Munich, so here is what’s happening in Panama in your neck of the woods.Octoberfest is being hosted at Suizo Mesón Restaurant, San Carlos, Panama. Experience typical bavarian food, a variety of imported beers and more. The evening will invite everybody to enjoy a fun time with friends. Tickets will go on sale shortly and can be combined with transport to and from the restaurant. Your Coronado Concierge team is working on the details, please stay tuned for date and time!
To our friends that are at Oktoberfest right now, Ein Prosit!