On Saturday October 1st and Sunday October 2nd the Stowe Rotary will host its 20th Oktoberfest celebration. Over two decades, Stowe Rotary’s Oktoberfest has grown from a small, local party to a perennial Vermont Chamber of Commerce Top Ten event, drawing thousands of people from all over Vermont, several states, and even other countries.
Oktoberfest is a weekend long celebration of the harvest and fall foliage, filled with oompah bands, authentic Bavarian foods and freshly brewed Vermont beers, as well as traditional sing-a-longs and dancing. It is also an important fundraising event for the region, and over the past twenty years has raised roughly $1 million for local charities and scholarships.
“The event has become huge,” said Stowe Rotary president Tom Hubbs. “We couldn’t do it without a tremendous amount of help, and it’s great to see the entire community come together every year to pull this off.”
Hubbs noted that students from Stowe High School, Green Mountain Technical Center, and Johnson State College all play an important role volunteering to help set up, clean up, and do the myriad jobs that need to be done. Local businesses donate equipment, materials as well as their expertise.
Sponsors of Stowe Rotary’s Oktoberfest include Bourne’s Energy, Casella, Dale E. Percy Inc., The Green Mountain Inn, Mountanside Resort at Stowe, Radio Vermont Group, Rusty DeWees the Logger, StoweBowl, Stowe Mountain Resort, Union Bank, The Village Green at Stowe Vermont, Von Trapp Brewing, and WCAX.
Scores of local businesses contribute items to the silent auction and raffle.
This year’s Oktoberfest will take place under the Big Tent in Stowe’s Mayo events field. The schedule of events features:
Friday, September 30
6:30pm – 10pm. Rocktoberfest kick off concert with live music from Dwight & Nicole, recipients of the 2016 Band of The Year award from the New England Music Awards, and the Boston Music Award's Female Vocalist of the Year.
Saturday, October 1
9:30 am – Roughly 10:45 am. Oktoberfest Bike Parade/Bike decorating in the Village Green on Main Street. Kids will adorn their bikes with Oktoberfest decorations, then lead the way along the Stowe Bike Path to the Big Tent on the Mayo Field. We will also raffle off a new bike! (Participents receive free admission!)
Start/9:30am -Village Green
11am. Opening Ceremony and Keg Tapping will open the official 2016 Oktoberfest Celebration.
11 am – 8 pm. Oktoberfest!
Sunday, October 2
11am – 4pm Oktoberfest!
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