On October 10, German Club hosted an annual Oktoberfest that was open to everyone who was interested in learning more about the German culture.
For this year’s Oktoberfest, German Club decorated the Knights Cafe and made sure there was enough German food for everyone to try. While people in German Club and in the classes mainly contributed food, there were also people outside of the club and classes that brought something to share as well.
“Everyone did an amazing job of bringing some dishes and celebrating, and there was some dancing. The Knights Cafe was a huge help. They put together hot apple cider and then the modified foods class also made applesauce and sauerkraut,” said German teacher Lisa Palaian.
German students encouraged a lot of family and friends to come and enjoy being at Oktoberfest. The encouragement paid off, making the event packed with people.
“I felt like I wanted to go, and I’m also German, and it would be fun to learn more about where I came from and the food they cook,” said sophomore Sophia Ashley.
Despite how many people come, German students wish to have more people at the event next year. German Club is already thinking of more ways to increase Oktoberfest’s popularity among the school and families.
“I’m thinking we could make more flyers, maybe for all the language classes to do a presentation about what Oktoberfest is because it’s a huge holiday; even Americans celebrate it,” said junior Brooke Lewis.
To add more culture to the event, the Austrians that came to visit the school brought their traditional dancing clothes to dance in during the event. They danced to songs. The students in the German classes learned to sing and dance too, and they even tried to show everyone a more cultural dance. Even though the dancing wasn’t perfect, everyone cheered and laughed so that everyone would have a good time.
“The Austrians seemed really cool with everything. They thought it was an actual Oktoberfest. It was actually really cool seeing them in their lederhosen,” Lewis said.
Germans often celebrate Oktoberfest in September. This year it was in October, so that the Austrians could be there for the event as well.
“I chose to do it in October because of when the students were coming, which was a good decision, but yeah, next year maybe we will try for an earlier date in September,” Palaian said
Oktoberfest has been a success for the students, and next year will be even better due to how many people are dedicated to the event. According to them, it was a good turnout, which gave them ideas on what they could do next year to make it even better. People that did go had a really enjoyable time that could encourage them to go again next year.
“I thought it was just going to be a couple people and the Austrians and just eating something and leaving, but with the dancing and the music, it was so much more than what I expected. I’m definitely going next year,” Ashley said.