This Friday from 5-8 p.m., the German Conversation and Culture Club (GCCC) will host the second annual Oktoberfest in Huntsville.
Oktoberfest will take place at The Wynne Home Arts Center for $1. Senior, History major, German minor, and president of GCCC Sara Gollogly leads the effort behind organizing this year’s Oktoberfest.
Gollogly expects around 300 to participate in the event this year, hosted on the Wynne Home’s lawn and porch.
“This Oktoberfest is going to be completely outside on the Wynne Home’s lawn and on their porch,” Gollogly said. “The porch is a huge wrap-around porch and the lawn can easily accommodate the amount of people that we are hoping will attend so it’s more of a beer garden-esque feel.”
The activities at Oktoberfest includes stein races, soccer, face painting, scavenger hunt, streusel stomp, ring toss and dancing.
Oktoberfest plans to have a full menu available to participants.
“This year we are trying to cook for 300 people so there will be some things like our beer rouladen that will be missing from the menu just for cost efficiencies,” Gollogly said. “But that should in no way deter anyone from coming because we’re still going to have some great food and great activities. Other things that are changed from last year, we don’t have a live band. Since we’re not having it at that venue [the Vortexan] with those connections, we don’t have live music. There will be music at Oktoberfest but there will not be a live band.”
GCCC’s Oktoberfest will not serve alcohol.
“To have had this event on campus,” Gollogly said. “We wouldn’t have been able to serve alcohol unless we went through an incredibly long process to get certified for that. In order to have it off-campus, it would have been upwards of $6,000 to serve alcohol to host this event and that’s just not in our budget.”
However, the Draft Bar agreed to host an “After Oktoberfest” event once the event concludes.
“We’re going to have an after Oktoberfest celebration at Draft Bar starting after 8 p.m. when the Official Oktoberfest at the Wynne Home ends,” Gollogly said. “And everyone over 21 is invited to drink at that after party with us.”
GCCC has been working hard to raise funds in preparation of the event.
“What we’ve been doing is that we’ve been raising money,” Gollogly said. “We’ve raised dues this semester for our members by $5 [previously $10]. We’ve had three very successful Bake Sales and raised over $400 doing that on our own. What we have raised, we have also received donations from people associated with GCCC, friends, family members, loved ones who want this event to succeed and have either donated their material goods or have donated money. And of course, we’ve petitioned our department and the college to match what we’ve raise and they’ve been very generous in that regard.”
Gollogly said that Oktoberfest will not break even for the GCCC, and the money raised from Oktoberfest will go to affording events for the fall and spring semester.
“What we’re trying to do is not break even with the amount spent on Oktoberfest because it’s not possible to for an organization on campus of our size and for an event like this,” Gollogly said. “We are simply trying, by charging a dollar and selling raffle tickets and T-shirts, to have something that the club can use going forward both this semester and for events coming up in the Spring as well.”
Oktoberfest kicks off at the Wynne house at 5 p.m. on Oct. 13.
