The German American Societies of San Diego in El Cajon is preparing for its two-weekend Oktoberfest celebration on Sept. 29- Oct. 1, and Oct. 6-8, at its facilities at 1017 S. Mollison Ave. Sept. 29 is the opening Day Parade with Keg Tap and the crowning of the 2023 Oktoberfest Queen at 6:30 p.m.
This event allows people to enjoy authentic German food, such as bratwurst, ox-on-the-spit, potato salad, sauerkraut, red cabbage, pretzels, and German pastries, along with an offering of German beers and liquors.
Oktoberfest chairman Mike Anderson said El Cajon’s Oktoberfest has more opportunity for people with two weekends of celebrations.
“We are very much more authentic culturally German,” he said. “We only have German food, and we have a great selection of German beers that no one else has. We have a band from Germany. It all rotates around Oktoberfest and German-related things. People come in traditional Tracht (historical German dress). It is extremely family oriented. We have a kid’s zone where they can go over and play. We have a lot of other things. We stress German folk dancing, games, we have the shooting gallery which is a big competition between the German clubs. It is a good time. Kids can join their parents for dinner, so there is no separation like a beer cage. It makes it more family-friendly and people are more responsible with their drinking when it is done like this.”
Anderson said the band, Guggenbach-Baum from Baden Wurttemberg, Germany has attended the festival for two decades. These musicians dress in traditional clothing, and play a variety of German music, just as you would hear in the beer gardens in Bavaria. Enjoy songs such as the chicken dance, polkas and waltzes, and all the famous beer-drinking tunes, new and old.
Anderson said this is the largest fundraiser of the year and funds many of the club’s other projects.
“We have added a teens dance group, started the Shooting Club back up again, we built a soccer field and have a youth soccer team,” he said. “During COVID we did a lot of work on the club. Installations and repairs, so although it was downtime, we took advantage of it without having to interrupt any of our activities. The Club is really founded more so on Carnival (Karneval, Fasching, Fastnacht, Mardi Gras). Oktoberfest is only in Munich, Germany. Many people have a similar festival, but Carnival, a Catholic celebration, is celebrated mostly in northern Germany and other areas. We still have it, but Oktoberfest is more fun for Americans.”
For more information about Oktoberfest in El Cajon and the German American Societies of San Diego, visit www.germanclubsandiego.org.
