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Some of the questions and possible answers were serious and real, and some were silly and simply for fun.
We couldn’t help but especially enjoy Question No. 3 on the Rotary Oktoberfest quiz: “Former Tribune columnist Matt James once described Oktoberfest as:
The answer? Cooler than Santa Claus. That’s what Matt James, now a sports columnist in Fresno, Calif., thought about our annual Fest, and that’s what we think, too.
Thursday night’s annual Torchlight Parade was once the cap to Oktoberfest but now serves as a signal that there are only two Fest days remaining.
If you haven’t had a chance yet to browse the grounds, walk the midway or sample the many tasty treats at Oktoberfest, we’d encourage you to do so today or Saturday, when the curtain comes down on Oktoberfest 2008.
Most of the big events for this year’s Fest are done already, but the daily entertainment and the chance for festing with friends remain.
From the annual medallion hunt that launches Oktoberfest to the various balls and dinners and parties, this fall event is about having fun and enjoying fellowship with one another.
Yes, drinking beer has always been a big part of the Fest, too, and remains so today. The drinking part we’re fine with. It’s the overindulging and getting stupid drunk part that we disagree with.
Thankfully, no drinking-related tragedies have happened this year. Does that mean we’re drinking less? Probably not. Are we drinking more responsibly and more safely? We certainly hope that is the case.
The longtime Oktoberfest people like to talk about the “gemütlichkeit” effect of the Fest. That hard-to-pronounce word means “warm friendliness; amicability,” according to the dictionary.
We like that part of Oktoberfest best of all. And there’s still plenty of gemütlichkeit to be had with this year’s Oktoberfest.
