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Taking advantage of the nice weather in September and October, Oktober
Fest was started to help draw more guests to the park after the
traditional summer season had ended.
Oktober Fest featured traditional German food, music, crafts, and of
course beer, as well as offering games, and attractions for children.
Oktober Fest was setup in the Garden of Eatin', and occupied both the
Fest Haus building and the neighboring Picnic Pavilion, as well as the
garden areas, and the entire section was decked out with garlands and
banners as well as fall displays of pumpkins and cornstalks.
For the rest of the season, this area is generally used for catered
picnic events booked by groups and companies.
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Each season of
Oktober Fest added new features and increased numbers of entertainers as
the event become more popular.
The park was running a small Halloween themed event, which was limited
to the last two weeks of the season, and had no where near the level of
decorating and effort put into it as Oktober Fest.
With several waves of product tampering in the news at the time, parents
became more reluctant to let their children do traditional door to door
trick or treating, and over time more and more people started coming to
theme parks for Halloween festivities. As the numbers
of guests expecting more and bigger Halloween attractions increased,
Oktober Fest was relegated to the secondary event of the season and more
time and money was spent on creating the park's Fright Fest.
Oktober Fest was relegated to a single weekend in September, and
consisted almost entirely of several performances by traditional German
music groups. |
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In these pictures you
can get an idea of the scope of the decorating specifically done for
Oktober Fest. The Fest Haus was the main attraction, with a
stage and delicious food being served along with beer and wine.
The Picnic Pavilion served as a secondary venue, holding the overflow
crowds from the Fest Haus. The sides of two buildings
were left open to allow people to move between them, as well as to allow
people in the Picnic Pavilion to enjoy the music from the main stage.
Also inside the buildings were displays of seasonal flowers and
decorations, including an animated group of German bears.
The Fest Haus was filled with little touches all around to evoke the
beer halls of Munich's Oktoberfest. The otherwise
unremarkable tent building was fitted with a long bar that ran down the
left side, and the bar was decorated with wood accents and crests of the
different German states.
The ceiling of the Fest Haus is hung with colorful fabric banners and
light fixtures that help add to the festive atmosphere as well as help
with the building's acoustics.
The Picnic Pavilion was home to the merchants who sold German crafts and
Christmas items. |
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The festival pole used to sit outside the Fest Haus, and it featured the
traditional array of figures.
The outside picnic area served as additional space for dining as well as
featuring a second stage of music and dancing, and several games of
skill. The Oktober Haus (now home to Glatt's Deli)
served snack foods and beer.
There was also a Wine Garden setup, which offered wine by the glass as
well as snack food out in the trees and shade of the octagonal
pavilions.
Even the restrooms in the Garden of Eatin' were decorated for the
Oktober Fest celebrations. Originally they were strewn with
garland, but later they were given the more permanent decorative
shields.
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Some other attractions of Oktober Fest which were
geared towards the kids included visits by Sci-Fi the robot, as well as
visits from the Looney Tunes and other costumed characters.
A petting zoo was also setup.
Below are a couple of the Oktober Fest pins the park created.
The button was worn by park employees, and the enamel pin and the pewter
pin were sold at the event.
After Oktober Fest was discontinued, the Garden of Eatin' area (now Old
Country Picnic Grove) would not see this kind of activity again until it
became the short-lived Winter Lights Village. |
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The Fest Haus has lost its decorations over the years as it has been
relegated to use as a catering facility full time. |
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The Picnic Pavilion has been stripped of its
whimsical figures and decorative trim. |
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The once colorful interiors of the buildings are now very plain and drab
looking in comparison to their former glory. |
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