| Oktoberfest Celebrations By Fritz Hahn washingtonpost.com Staff Writer Updated Wednesday, September 24, 2003 | ||
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 More than 5 million liters of beer are consumed at Munich's annual two-week Oktoberfest celebration. (File photo) |
Blob's Park | Local Flavors | Events
Blob's Park
It might seem like every day is Oktoberfest at Blob's Park, Maryland's largest German beer garden and polka hall; but certain weekends in October have been designated as Oktoberfest celebrations, with special entertainment from visiting bands and dancers. You have two chances -- Oct. 4 and 18 -- to see the local Alt Washingtonia Schuhplattler, which performs traditional Bavarian Schuhplattler dances and German drinking songs, along with alpine bell ringing. On Oct. 25, it's Washingtonia Schuhplattler Verein, another group of Bavarian dancers and bell ringers. The cover charge for those events is $7. Mike Surratt and the Continentals perform polkas, waltzes and more on Oct. 26, and Surratt and guitarist Mike Caswell perform as "Das Meister Duett" on Oct. 31.
For good beer (more than 70 kinds, including 30 from Germany), homemade German food and a big dance floor, Max Blob's can't be beat. Please note that Blob's Park is in Jessup, at least 30 minutes from downtown Washington. It's a bit of a haul, and, as always, designate a driver. You can get more information at the Blob's Park Web site.
The Washington area has a number of German restaurants and bars, and most go into high gear for this time of year. In addition to Blob's Park, here's where you can sip a beer, eat sausage and put the oomph in your oompah-pah.
Cafe Mozart, the German delicatessen-restaurant tucked into a downtown office building, already has a great beer selection and bar menu. Through the end of October, there's a special Oktoberfest menu, with everything from Eisbein (boiled pig knuckles) to pastries with sweet almond icing, as well as a huge platter for two with a variety of sausages, potato salad, red cabbage, sauerkraut and cake. And you can buy more bratwurst, rich mustard, Haribo Gummi Bears, Ritter chocolate and Helmut Sachers Kaffee (coffee straight from Vienna) at the deli on your way out. On Tuesdays, the bar's specials go until 9: $3.75 bratwurst sandwiches and $4 half-liters of beer, although this, unfortunately, doesn't apply to the Hofbrauhaus Oktoberfest beer, shipped from Munich for the month. Large side orders of sauerkraut and dumplings aren't on the bar menu, but you can order them.
If you're looking for live oompah music, staff clad in lederhosen and dirndls and, most importantly, award-winning food, Wurzburg-Haus is waiting in Rockville, just a short drive up Interstate 270. A special Oktoberfest menu is in place all month, and accordion players entertain from 6 to 10 p.m. on weekends. Both draft and bottled German beers are available.
The Brickskeller is the undisputed beer capital of the Washington area, and German and Austrian beers are a big part of that -- the bar has 95 beers (at last count) from those countries. Questions? Ask the bartenders and servers. Or just do like I do and start with the letter "A" (that's Augustinerbrau, for those keeping track). While the beer ain't cheap -- most bottles cost between $3 and $6.50, but some are more than $9 -- the raucous atmosphere on weekends is somewhat Munich-like.
An odd place for a beer hall, north Georgetown is where you'll find the Old Europe. It's well known for the venison and other game served at the German restaurant, but the beer cellar has hosted one of the longest-running Oktoberfest parties in Washington. Head there daily in October for German music, a special Oktoberfest menu and, most importantly, kegs of Oktoberfest beer, delivered annually from Munich. There are also a number of other German and Czech beers on draft for sampling.
Many brewpubs mark the season with a special Oktoberfest house beer. I've enjoyed better-than-average drinks at the District ChopHouse, Gordon Biersch Brwery Restaurant and the two Rock Bottom Breweries. As in Munich, Gordon Biersch serves its beer in heavy glass mugs.
See our list of all German restaurants in the area.
Sept. 26-27
Lovettsville's 10th annual Oktoberfest has more of a community feel than many other stein-hoisting events. The party begins with a German dinner on Friday night, including music and family entertainment. Saturday is the big event, with a large Volksmarch walk; music and dance performances by the Washington Saengerbund, Blaskapelle Alte Kameraden and the Alpine Dancers; craft vendors; a book sale; and traditional German food and beer. Activities begin at 10 at the Lovettsville Community Center and run until 5. Call 540-822-5284 for more information.
Sept. 27-28
The two-day Frederick Oktoberfest features special beers from the Brewer's Art and Barley and Hops brewpubs, dance performances and live German-style bands (Edelweiss on Saturday, Mike and the Continentals on Sunday), German food, vendors and games and entertainers for children. All proceeds from Oktoberfest, held at the Frederick Fairgrounds, go to Community Living, a Frederick County agency that provides residential and employment services to residents with developmental disabilities. Grounds are open from noon to 9 on Saturday and 1 to 6 on Sunday.
Oct. 4
Blocktoberfest is a fairly simple concept: a giant Ballston block party with live music, carnival games and food that happens to fall around the same time as Oktoberfest -- hence the name and the token Bavarian music. Really, though, it's a fun indoor/outdoor event with 15 bands that include Jimmy's Chicken Shack, Love Seed Mama Jump, the Lloyd Dobbler Effect and Doug Segree. Six blocks of central Ballston will be closed to traffic to make room for three stages, a large midway area, children's games and more. Restaurants in Ballston Common will be open to serve food -- and show the day's college football games. Tickets are $10 in advance from www.blocktoberfest.com and $15 at the gate; children 12 and under are admitted free.
Oct. 8
Even if you can't get to Munich, it's still possible to celebrate Oktoberfest on German soil. For the ninth year running, the Wine Tasting Association is sponsoring an Oktoberfest party at the German Embassy. The embassy's chef and staff prepare a traditional buffet dinner that includes suckling pig, bratwurst, leberkase, red cabbage, sauerkraut and more. Oktoberfest beer, German wines and live music and dancing are all included in the price of a ticket: $65 ($55 for association members) and available from www.winetasting.org.
Oct. 9
One of Washington's better-kept Oktoberfest secrets is the party thrown by the German Armed Forces Command in Dulles. Every year, a plane stocked with beer flies from Germany to Virginia, and a giant party is held in a German hangar at the airport. This time, entertainment is provided by Blaskapelle Alte Kameraden and Stabsmusikkorps Berlin, an army band, and there's plenty of dancing. Reservations must be made by Oct. 1, and tickets can be purchased in person between 11 and 2 Monday through Friday at the Command's Traffic and Transportation Division. For reservations and more information, call Mrs. Duagherty at 703-661-5002, Mrs. Esser at 703-661-5029 or Mrs. Wieland at 703-661-5034.
Oct. 11
Now in its fifth year, Capitol City Brewing Company's Mid-Atlantic Oktoberfest block party brings beers from 31 breweries to the Village of Shirlington. Most of the big-name locals are represented -- Cap City, Old Dominion, Clipper City, Gordon Biersch, etc. -- but the festival also attracts brewers from all over the East Coast and even a few from Europe. There's no charge to enter the festival, which takes place along a closed street; but if you want beer, you have to buy a tasting mug and pay for a sample of each beer. Nine of Shirlington's restaurants provide the food. For entertainment, there'll be traditional German music by the Edelweiss Band, plus the ever-popular Alpine Dancers. Congressman Jim Moran starts the taps flowing at noon; last call is at 6.
Oct. 11-12
Baltimore has a large German American community, and its Oktoberfest celebrations are always a good time, full of music and dancing. This year marks the city's 34th annual Maryland Oktoberfest party, and in recent times, it has taken place at the Fifth Regiment Armory downtown. On Saturday, doors open at noon, and German brass and oom-pah bands play from 1 until midnight, filling the dance floor with cheery polkas and waltzes, as well as the odd barrel march (don't ask, just follow along). There's a beer garden area with traditional food and drink, as well as German crafts for sale. Sunday finds music from 1 to 9. Admission is $5, and children 12 and under are admitted free.
Oct. 18
The Maryland Brewer's Oktoberfest is just what it sounds like: a chance to sample more than 50 beers produced by 13 brewers from across the state. (I'm a fan of Brewer's Art and Ellicott Mills Brewing Company.) Held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, the party also includes Miss Oktoberfest and "Best Beer Belly" contests, food, live rock and traditional German bands, a homebrewing contest, crafts and more. Tickets are $15 and include a souvenir stein and six tickets for beer samples; order in advance from www.mdoktoberfest.com for bonus tickets. Gates open at noon and close at 9.
Oct. 19
Six traditional German bands and dance groups are featured at the College Park Oktoberfest, which brings beer, food and vendors to the University of Maryland's Ritchie Coliseum. The Grosses Bayrische Blasmusikaten ("The Big Bavarian Brass Band"), Shippensburg Blaskapelle, Alpine Dancers, GTV Immergrun Bavarian Schuhplatter, Blaskapelle Alte Kameraden and Verein Deutscher Trachten take the stage between noon and 6, along with a short performance by the College Park Youth Choir. Admission is free, and activities are planned for children.
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