Win tickets to the Bierfest
It’s time for the Tops at Spar Bierfest again, so dust off the lederhosen and head off to the Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom and get those steins cracking
Since its inception in 2010, the Tops at Spar Bierfest has provided loyal customers with an real show rather than just a stand-around-drinking-beer experience.
On entering the 3 000-seater brauhaus (beer hall), guests are reminded of Munich, home of the world renowned Oktoberfest.
Organisers of the local version have gone to great lengths and cost to replicate the feel and vibe, but with a South African touch. The décor may be from Germany, but the entertainment – and the beers – are proudly home-grown.
An oompah band keeps it traditional and this year, South Africa’s favourite mock-rock mash-up band, The Rockerfellas, will make sure the dancing shoes get a solid workout between rounds.
Audience members will be invited on stage by the bierfest mayor of Munich, the honourable Klaus von Über-Hüber, to take part in a variety of activities – in which winning prizes is the aim of the game.
Whether it’s testing stamina (by seeing how long you can hold a full litre bier stein aloft) in the Mass-Heben game, putting the best cow milking skills into practice (Katja, a life-size fiberglass cow will be making her bierfest debut), competing for best dressed, or having nasal cavities cleansed with a shot of flavoured snuff from the giant snufftabakkanon (like a tiny springboard that shoots a harmless pinch of Bavarian snuff tobacco up your nostrils) – attending a session will challenge more than just quaffing bier by the litre and indulging in Bavarian cuisine.
For the first time, organisers will also be recognising the “hero of the rectangle table”. Those who buy two or more tables will be eligible for biermeister status. They will be crowned as the lords or ladies of the table, be invited on stage for a sing-along and receive extra VIP care from their attending fraulein.
With six different ticket options, it’s the event’s hospitality offerings - the “brauhaus” and “braumeister” packages – which offer the most revel for the rand.
The brauhaus comprises a two-course Bavarian meal, limited bar tab and costume accessories.
Or go all out with the braumeister, which includes a gourmet three-course Bavarian meal and a limited premium bar tab, plus a range of upmarket fun dress-up options.
The bierfest hits Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom just north of uMhlanga from September 30 to October 1. Tickets are R125 through www.bierfest.co.za. No under 18s allowed.
Patrons also have several chances to win a trip for two to the Munich Oktoberfest – sign up to the newsletter and look out for a bierfest mailer in the inbox, enter the SMS competition or simply drop a business card into the giant stein glass at the Bierfest entrance.