St. Colman of Cloyne Parish is expanding its third-annual “Oktoberfest” celebration to the broader Washington Court House and Fayette County community.
This is a free event open to all that will be held on Saturday, Oct. 20, starting at 4 p.m. on the St. Colman Grounds and Parish Center at 219 S. North St. Live “authentic” German Oktoberfest music will be provided by Chris Weiss and the “Polka Heroes,” featuring Bill Antoniak. Weiss is a regular performer at Schmidt’s in Columbus and Antoniak is a regular performer at Hofbrau Haus.
“We started this event as a sort of Parish Picnic in 2016,” Oktoberfest event chair Dan Stahl said on Tuesday. “Following the event, a number of folks came forward from the broader community and expressed interest in participation. A little reflection led us to the realization that a significant portion of the Fayette County community has significant German heritage. German has also been taught in the Washington City School system for a number of years. Thus it is natural for folks to join together to celebrate this traditional fall event.
Food offerings will include grilled brats (“Johnsonville” style), homemade “German” potatoes, sauerkraut, handmade pretzels and homemade cream puffs. Hot dogs will also be served. Also featured during the event will be a large 50/50 raffle, which raises funds to support local charities. Tickets are still available and will be sold up to the drawing at 9 p.m. on Oct. 20.
“My wife, Bobbie, and I grew up in west central Ohio and have enjoyed traveling back to visit Oktoberfests in the German communities near our hometowns,” Stahl said. “We are happy that we are able to share the feeling of ‘Gemuetlichkeit’ with the broader Fayette County community. We have planned what we hope will be a great event this year. We look forward to having everyone join in the fun.”
Currently the schedule of planned events include cornhole, a photo booth, bucket pong, kids’ games that are open until 7 p.m., a fish pond, a duck pond and face painting that all begin at 4 p.m. Starting at 6:30 p.m., Polka Heroes will take the main stage while yodeling contest preliminaries begin on the side stage. Bingo will begin in the Parish Center at 7 p.m. and starting at 7:30 p.m., the Ohio State versus Purdue football game will be projected on the big screen, and the yodeling contest finals will move to the main stage. At 8 p.m., Fayette County’s largest chicken dance will be held, a cover-all bingo game at the Parish Center will start at 8:30 p.m., and finally at 9 p.m., the 50/50 charity raffle drawing will occur. The payout for last year’s event was over $4,000.
Stahl also took time to thank the sponsors Tuesday for their help preparing the event. Sponsors include Werner’s Smokehouse, Pettit’s, Gusweiler GM/Toyota, Streetside 62, The Rusty Keg, Dr. Allen Griffiths, OD, Dr. Greg Flerchinger, DC, and the Knights of Columbus Insurance.
“We are grateful for the large number of parishioners and other folks from the broader community who contribute their time, energy and financial resources into making this event a success. These folks have worked hard to ensure that our food offerings are authentic and homemade as much as possible. Finally, we are grateful to the clergy and staff at St. Colman for their active participation, support and allowing us to share the grounds and facilities with the Fayette County community. Ideas and assistance in planning for 2019 are welcome.”
The information in this article was provided by St. Colman of Cloyne event chair Dan Stahl.
Reach Martin Graham at (740) 313-0351 or on Twitter @MartiTheNewsGuy.
