The eighth annual Oktoberfest, hosted by Incarnation Lutheran Church was
a community wide event focused on sharing German culture with Columbia. This Oktoberfest included German-style entertainment, authentic food and, of course, beer.
Sarah Sawicki, co-direktor of the festival and member of the Lutheran church, said her goal for Oktoberfest this year was to offer hospitality and celebrate German heritage. She said Oktoberfest is a great chance to spend time in the nice weather and enjoy a beer with family and friends.
“We have a lot of actual Germans who tell us this is the most authentic one in Columbia,” Sawicki said.
As the host of Oktoberfest, Andy Nyland has a similar goal. He greeted guests dressed as Martin Luther with the hope of keeping the same open atmosphere as last year's event.
“The reason why this church started Oktoberfest was to invite the community and to join together you know, an event that was family-friendly, but still allowed the adults to have a good time,” he said.
The large selection of beer and food were some of the main attractions for attendees. There were two biergartens serving a wide variety of craft and German style beers. One of the biergartens had Paulaner beer which is one of the seven breweries that serves at the Munich Oktoberfest.
All of the food is homemade by members of the church and emulates traditional German food. Some of the menu items included fried schnitzel, bratwurst and rotkraut, which is red cabbage and sauerkraut.
Dessert included an array of German pastries including an almond and apricot cookie called Nussecken and chocolate cherry liqueur cake.
Bakery stand volunteer Mary Kehl said the cookie she’s most familiar with out of the selection is the Pfeffernusse.
“I grew up on those, but my ones that mama made were from her family who was from Germany,” Kehl said.
The entertainment included several traditional polka bands and authentic Oom-pah bands playing traditional music as well as familiar songs like the “Chicken Dance.”
A group of five dancers from SC Music and Dance Academy performed a polka dance in traditional German outfits. Ashley Epperson, a first-year broadcast journalism student, has performed at this festival for the past three years.
“My favorite part about it is when we do the audience participation and we bring people up to do it with us,” Epperson said.
The Oktoberfest is made possible by the volunteers at the church and their dedication to sharing German heritage with the surrounding community. Sawicki said it’s a lot of hard work, but a labor of love.
“It’s very rewarding to see the folks having a good time,” Sawicki said.
The Oktoberfest ended Sunday evening with a “Beer and Hymns” gathering where the community sang songs together ranging from Journey to traditional hymns.