Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Saturday, September 27, 2008
Finding friends at Oktoberfest made easy
 City Brewery brewmaster Randy Hughes pours cups of City Festbier for a few lucky fest goers after the Golden Keg was tapped Friday at the South Side grounds. PETER THOMSON photo |
At Oktoberfest it’s OK to polka whenever you want, said Maria Scarpaci of Milwaukee. At Oktoberfest it’s socially acceptable to drink at 10 a.m., said Patrick Schindhelm of Milwaukee.
And, only at Oktoberfest, it makes perfect sense to hold a stick high in the air with a plastic crow fastened to the end, said Paul Przywojski of La Crosse.
Przywojski, “the ultimate event planner” among friends and family, thought up the “old crow on the stick” last year so that his buddies could find him during the crowded first days of the fest.
This year, he bought them all their own plastic crows on sticks from Fleet Farm, which they decorated and held up as they watched the tapping of the Golden Keg on Friday morning.
A crow on the stick also makes it much easier to get a beer, Przywojski said. He simply extends the long stick and taps the bartender on the shoulder with the beak of his feathered friend. With a few dollars taped to the bird, he avoids the crowd, he said.
“We’re sorry” is printed on the back of Paul and his wife’s shirts — “because it is so ridiculous,” said Kathy Przywojski.
“The crows are definitely original,” said Laura Cummings of Winona, Minn., who sat down at a picnic table with her husband before the flock of crows came in. “They told us, ‘You’re going to be happy you sat here ... if not, we’ll buy you a beer.’”
Oktoberfest is not so much about the drinking, but about being together, Kathy Przywojski said.
“It is all about having fun — that is really what it is,” her husband added.
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