The Milwaukee Post

October 5, 2018 • Milwaukee County Post • 17 ENTERTAINMENT By CATHERINE JOZWIK Special to the Post Milwaukee may not be Munich, but the city certain- ly knows how to throw a good fall party. For its ninth year, Milwaukee Oktoberfest will celebrate the city's Germanic roots Friday through Sunday with plenty of brats, beer and polka. The outdoor festival, which will take place at the new Fiserv Forum, 1111 Vel R. Phillips Ave., will feature a brat-eating contest, a Miss Oktoberfest pageant, a stein- hoisting competition, a wiener dog show in which canines dress in hot dog cos- tumes, a beanbag tourna- ment and a Das Boot bar tour. "We've brought back everything people enjoy see- ing at the festival," said Michael Sampson, whose company, Swarmm Events, organizes Oktoberfest. Milwaukee Oktoberfest began in 2010 as a single keg- tapping event in Pere Marquette Park. It has since grown to a free three-day fes- tival, Sampson said. This year, Mayor Tom Barrett will tap the festival's first keg Friday evening. Attendees can enjoy complimentary Spaten beer. Besides the keg tap, festi- valgoers can enjoy several beer-themed activities. The stein-hoisting compe- tition will require partici- pants to hold two full beer steins at a 90-degree angle without moving or bending their arms. Winners will receive cash prizes. The Das Boot Beer Tour is a bar crawl at Old World Third Street establishments. Decked out Teutonic-style, each bar will offer beer lovers a taste of a special Oktoberfest brew. Ticket- holders will also receive T- shirts. Music spans generations Traditional bands Spielmannzug Milwaukee Drum and Bugle Corps, Austrian Express, Mike Schneider Band, The Klaberheads, Jeff Winard Band, and Polka Floyd and Jammin Germans, which put modern twists on folksy favorites, will be among the festival's entertainers. "We've got a great list of polka bands from all across the Midwest," Sampson said. Accordions will indeed get a workout. Judges will crown the fifth Miss Oktoberfest this year. Traditional beauty pageant rules need not apply; win- ners will compete for cash prizes in three categories: yodeling, stein hoisting and beer chugging. Levy Restaurants, conces- sionaire to the Milwaukee Bucks, will sell a mix of Germanic and Wisconsin fare and drink, including beer, brats smothered in sauerkraut, cheese curds, and pretzels with mustard. The Milwaukee Brat House, 1013 N. Old World Third St., will host festival after-parties Friday through Sunday. For a complete schedule, vist milwaukeeoktoberfest. com. Milwaukee celebrates autumn, German style Courtesy of Swarmm Events A crowd at a previous Oktoberfest hoists their beer steins to celebrate the fall festival. Courtesy of Swarmm Events An attendee at a previous Milwaukee Oktoberfest holds up a giant pret- zel, one of the festival's most popular food offerings. A real Miss Oktoberfest is just for starters outside Fiserv Forum

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