Elizabeth Case
Think sprawling canopies, long, notched wooden tables and thousands of roaring, beer-belly busting patrons.
This is the only genuine welcome to the grand German tradition of Oktoberfest. If you haven’t already, we would suggest throwing on your lederhosen and dirndl, and heading out into the city. The original festival takes place outside the gates of Munich, but it is celebrated around the world, including right here in Los Angeles.
The tradition began more than 200 years ago with the marriage of Germany’s King Ludwig I to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in 1810. The public celebrated the union on the fields outside Munich’s city gates.
The festivities were repeated the following year, and that was that ““ Oktoberfest was born. Celebrations of Bavarian agriculture and fairgrounds were later incorporated into the revelry.
The modern-day Oktoberfest, which takes place for about three weeks between the end of September and beginning of October, is still quite a production.
More than 6 million visitors from around Bavaria, a part of southern Germany, and the rest of the world visit the fairgrounds to drink steins of beer in Brüderschaft (“brotherhood”), sing traditional drinking songs and celebrate a grand tradition. In 2012, visitors consumed 116 oxen, 57 calves and 6.9 million liters of beer ““ pretty impressive stats for a party.
Closer to home, you may have spotted listings for Oktoberfest-themed testings around Los Angeles over the past few weeks. The longest-running L.A. celebration can be found in Alpine Village in Torrance, which has hosted Oktoberfest festivities for the past 45 years. The festivities began Sept. 7 and will close out Oct. 27. Tickets cost just $20, and Sundays are family-friendly events with free admission for kids ages 12 and under.
The largest celebration this weekend near UCLA can be found in Hollywood, with the fifth annual “L.A. Oktoberfest” event kicking off on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are pricy, at $35 for a single pour, but you get a glass stein out of it.
Alan Semsar, CEO of Los Angeles-based marketing agency Barcelona Enterprises, which puts on the Hollywood event, said he got a lukewarm response when he first came up with the idea.
“To be honest with you, people laughed at me,” Semsar said. “Everyone said, “˜Why would you do a German event in Los Angeles?'”
It proved to be a wise business decision: Semsar expects L.A. Oktoberfest to draw about 3,000 people over the weekend, including large contingents from UCLA and USC.
Imported beers from Germany and Austria will be the centerpieces of the festival in Hollywood ““ keep an eye out for the German-made Weltenburger. Several local beers will be featured as well, Semsar said.
Semsar, a beer aficionado who grew up in London, said his dad took him to Munich’s renowned Oktoberfest festivities when he was young. He said he remembers steins that were too heavy for him to pick up.
Today, the original Munich Oktoberfest is the largest festival in the world, with an international flavor characteristic of the 21st century. And since the Oktoberfest is still held on the Theresienwiese, the fields where the celebration first took place, the locals still refer to the event simply as the “Wiesn.” So “welcome to the Wiesn” means nothing other than “welcome to the Oktoberfest”!
If you’ve been to Oktoberfest in Germany, you’ll notice a few differences here: In L.A., the beer is served cold, while German beer is often served warm.
That being said, no one is stopping you from breaking out the lederhosen.
If you’re planning to go to an Oktoberfest celebration this weekend, tweet @dailybrewin or send Instagram photos of your favorite brews. We’ll be compiling a digital list of our favorites.
Are you celebrating Oktoberfest? Email Case at ecase@media.ucla.edu and Kelly at dkelly@media.ucla.edu.