The St. Colman of Cloyne Parish’s third-annual “Oktoberfest” celebration has undergone a few changes in order to accommodate for potentially bad weather on Saturday.
“Rather than fight the forecast 30 mile per hour winds and potential rain on Saturday, we have opted to center our focus on an indoor celebration of Oktoberfest,” event chair, Dan Stahl, said. “Utilizing the Parish Center and other resources on the St. Colman campus, we should be able to accommodate all those who wish to participate in this year’s event.”
Oktoberfest is a free event open to all that will be held Saturday starting at 4 p.m. at the Parish Center at 219 S. North St. in Washington C.H. Currently the start time has no changes with live “authentic” German Oktoberfest music starting by Chris Weiss at 4 p.m. on the main stage in the Parish Center. Weiss is a regular performer at Schmidt’s in Columbus.
Weather permitting, several outdoor activities could still be available, including cornhole, bucket pong and kids’ games at the Colman Hall until 7 p.m., which include a fish and duck pond, face painting and Bozo’s Bucket Bonanza.
At 6:30 p.m. the “Polka Heroes,” featuring Bill Antoniak, will take to the main stage in the Parish Center. Antoniak is a regular performer at Hofbrau Haus. Then, at 7 p.m. bingo will begin at the Colman Hall before the Ohio State vs. Purdue football game starts at 7:30 p.m., projected onto a big screen. Also starting at 7:30 is a Yodeling Contest on the main stage.
The rest of the evening will include Fayette County’s Largest Chicken Dance at 8 p.m., a “Cover-All” bingo game at 8:30 p.m., and following the 50/50 charity raffle drawing (with a prize currently at $2,750) at 9 p.m. karaoke will commence.
“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,” Stahl said recently. “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 current forecast for Saturday is a high of 57 degrees and a low of 31 degrees with a 70 percent chance of precipitation forming later in the day. Winds are expected to reach 30 miles per hour with the potential to blow faster than 40 miles per hour.
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.
