The end of September brings a bevy of festivals and events to Richmond, not least among these St. Benedict Catholic Church's Oktoberfest celebrations. Last weekend marked their 10th annual Oktoberfest in which they remember the German heritage of Richmond with traditional Bavarian polka, dancers, food, and of course, beer!
The Low'n'Brows German Band
The festival takes place in the large parking lot and adjacent streets around St Benedict's in the Museum district of Richmond from Friday through Sunday on the same first weekend of Munich's Oktoberfest. We chose to visit on that Sunday with my mother-in-law, herself an immigrant from northern Bavaria, when the crowds were smaller and more family friendly. The strains of an accordion tiptoeing through the notes of polka music and the sight of Bavarian flags dancing in the breeze greeted us as we arrived. Entry is free of charge, so we walked right on in!
The bierzelt dominated the parking lot and housed the musicians and plenty of blue and white checkered tables for beer drinkers and sausage eaters to enjoy the atmosphere in the shade. Although we did not partake in the beer that day, we were happy to see many familiar beers both from Germany and from local breweries on tap: Franziskaner's Hefe-Weisse, Original Munchner's Helles Lager, Oktoberfest Marzen Lager, Midnight Brewery'sNew Beginning Koelsch, and Hardywood'sRVA IPA, just to name a few. The food tents also evoked pleasant memories of all our visits to Germany: large pretzels, various wurst (sausage), kartoffelsalat (potato salad), and the sharp, delicious smell of sauerkraut. And there was plenty of Lebkuchenherzen (a traditional gingerbread cookie in the shape of a heart) for sale in the market section of the festival!
By far, the highlight of our afternoon was watching the Schuhplattler dancers. Schuhplattler is a traditional dance from Upper Bavaria (the southern, alpine portion of the state) which features knee-slapping, thigh-thumping, foot-stomping men in lederhosen and alpine hats, accompanied by a few dirndl-wearing ladies to soften the overall performance.
(Video from YouTube and not of the St Benedict Schuhplattler dancers themselves)
We couldn't get enough of these dancers and wish they could have danced through the entirety of the afternoon! Between the dancers, the frequent refrains of Ein Prosit, and a few platefuls of wurst, German chocolate cake, and pretzels, our pining for Germany was slightly alleviated and inspired us to start researching a return trip to our European home!
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Next month the Richmond Oktoberfest Committee will be presenting their 46th Annual Oktoberfest celebrations at the Richmond International Raceway! According to their website, they draw large crowds on both their Friday and Saturday night celebrations. Will I see you there?!
Have you been to the Oktoberfest in Munich? Does your hometown host Oktoberfest celebrations like this one?
