An October Wedding

 

King Ludwig I married Princess Therese on 12 October 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front of the city gates, to celebrate the royal event. The fields were named Theresienwiese ("Theresa's Meadow") in honor of the Crown Princess, and have kept that name ever since, although the locals have abbreviated the name simply to Wiesn.

 

   

 

Horse races were held on 18 October to honor the newlyweds. The precise origins of the festival and horse races remain a matter of controversy. However, the decision to repeat the horse races, spectacle, and celebrations in 1811 launched what is now the annual Oktoberfest tradition.

 

 

In 1811, a show was added to promote Bavarian agriculture. In 1813, the festival was canceled due to the involvement of Bavaria in the Napoleonic Wars, after which the Oktoberfest grew from year to year. The horse races were accompanied by tree climbing, bowling alleys, and swings and other attractions. In 1818, carnival booths appeared, and it was decided that Oktoberfest become an annual event.

 

 

In 1832, the date was moved some weeks later, as a Greek delegation visited. It inspired them for the Zappas Olympics which became in 1896 the modern Olympic Games. Later, the Oktoberfest was lengthened and the date pushed forward because days are longer and warmer at the end of September.

 

 

At the end of the 19th century, a re-organization took place. Organizers wanted more room for guests and musicians which resulted in the booths becoming beer halls which are still used today.

 

 

 

Since 1950, the Oktoberfest begins at noon on a Saturday in the second half of September with the ceremony of tapping the first keg. (I can’t think of a better way to start a party.) This is traditionally done by Munich’s Mayor at the oldest tent of the festival, the Schottenhamel tent. The Mayor gives his best to tap the keg with the fewest possible hits with a hammer, as he knows that next day’s headlines will be about how many he needed before exclaiming “O’zapft is!” (keg breached). (Kind of like throwing out the first pitch in baseball.) The beer served at the Schottenhamel tent is Spaten-Franziskaner. 

A gun salute is fired in the air to the Bavaria statue. This tradition goes back many years and is a sign for the landlords in the other tents that they too can now begin to sell their beer. (Yes, gunfire starts everyone drinking. Some things never change.)

The Oktoberfest is the world’s largest Volksfest (beer festival and traveling funfare) with more than six million people, from around the world, attending the event every year. (But of course we haven't had VillageFest yet)   :)

The highlight of the first Sunday of the festival is another colorful festive parade through Munich and to the festival grounds. Some 9,500 people take part in the costumed parade with horse carriages and by foot, accompanied by brass orchestras and bands. They alternate in colorful sequences with sports and mountain troops, marching bands, historic costume groups, fanfare blowers and flag throwers, and has become an event that is broadcast every year on live television.

 

The beer served at the Oktoberfest can only come from six old traditional and Munich based breweries, Augustiner, Paulaner, Spaten-Franziskaner, Lowenbrau, Hacker-Pschorr and Hofbrau. Each of the main Oktoberfest tents serves its own brand. The tents are often run by the same Munich based families for generations, and the families often also run wirsthauses, restaurants and beer gardens throughout Munich.

 

 

Oktoberfest is often associated with beer, for example, in 2013, 7.7million liters were served, but the festival’s traditions go beyond that. While the beer tents, of course, provide drinks, they also play only traditional Bavarian music, and people wear traditional Bavarian clothing, dirndls and lederhosen.

 

A Collector’s Wonderland

Felt hats, beer mugs and gingerbread hearts are the most traditional Oktoberfest souvenirs. The Oktoberfest beer mug is redesigned every year and is a real collector’s item and popular souvenir. The classic design is already more than 100 years old. The printed motif is new every year – namely the respective Oktoberfest poster for that year. The mug is available at most souvenir stalls. In addition, many landlords sell their own beer mugs with Oktoberfest motifs in their tents. Gingerbread hearts and felt hats are available everywhere at the festival.

   

Of course, at an international beer drinking party, what could possibly be a major problem? In 2004, the queues outside the toilets became so long, that the police had to regulate access. Consequently, the number of toilets was increased by 20% in 2005. Approximately 1,800 toilets and are available today.

 

 

 

 

Many guests visit the “quiet stalls” to use their mobile phones. For this reason, there were plans in 2005 to install a Faraday cage around the toilets or to use mobile phone jammers to prevent telephoning with those devices. Jamming devices are, however, illegal in Germany, and Faraday cages made of copper would have been too expensive, so these ambitious plans were dropped, and signs were placed instead, warning toilet users not to use cellular phones in the stalls.  More recently, amplifying live music in the toilets has led to them no longer representing a quiet retreat for telephoning.

 

 

 

 

As For Villaging . . .

 

I see many displays with carnivals, but very few with Oktoberfest, the biggest carnival of all. What a missed opportunity for stories. A lot of brands provide help, offering buildings and lots of accessories, to enhance your carnival into a real Oktoberfest. Here's just a few examples. Use your imagination and let the celebration begin in your carnival display.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

All the rides, plus parades, plus lines at the outhouses, plus, plus, plus. How many stories can you generate from a carnival? Now that you know the background, the challenge and opportunity is there. “Zum Wohl” (to your health) and . . .