Drink and be merry at the Oktoberfest

EVENTS at Hillcrest Quarry are nothing if not varied. This weekend it’s all about oysters and bubbles, next Friday and Saturday there’s a change of pace with a traditional Windhoek Oktoberfest brought to you by Namibia Breweries.

A combination of German food, games and activities, entertainment and Namibian beer, Friday night is for over-18s only, but on Saturday you can take your children for a great family day out. All the beer on offer has been brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot, the 1516 Bavarian Purity Law which restricts and regulates ingredients which can be used in German beer production to ensure a purer, more perfect product. There will be a “Festbier” which is brewed specially for the Oktoberfest by braumeister Christian M ller. Also available will be the Stellenbrau Jonkers Weissbier.

Highlights at the weekend include the 500th anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot and performances by the Kirchdorfer band, which has been the official band in the “Hacker-Festzelt” at the Oktoberfest in Munich since 1994 and will be flying in from there to perform at the Cape Town Oktoberfest.

Typical of a traditional fair, there will be lots of games of which the most prominent are “stamm- sägen” ( log sawing), “bierstemmen” ( beer lifting), “hau den lukas” (high striker), beer pong and catty shooting. These games will be hosted by members of MatieKa, a German carnival hosted in Stellenbosch.

Traditional German food on the menu will include schweine haxn (pork knuckle), schweinebraten (pork roast), bretzn (pretzels), weisswurst, bratwurst, obatzda (Bavarian cheese) and much more.

Oktoberfest is the world’s largest beer festival, celebrated annually in Munich, Germany – usually in the second half of September, go figure. The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 in honour of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig’s marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

Tickets are R120 from Computicket and R150 at the gate, which opens at 6pm on Friday and 10am on Saturday, until late. For more information, call 021 551 3683 or email info@ eventsandmore.co.za.