Dave Knows Portland

September 25-27: Oaks Park Oktoberfest, Juggling Festival, and the Polish Festival

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More fests this weekend than you can shake a stick at. Knowing this was the case I started blogging about them early in the week. To recap:

Polish FestivalPolish Festival 2009

The Polish Festival is one of Portland’s best annual cultural events (and one of my favorites), and it takes place this weekend: Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27th.

Below the masthead on the festival website are the words: the best kept secret of Portland, Oregon. Well, the secret is out.

German GirlOktoberfest at Oaks Park

Three words: Wiener dog races. That’s really all you need to know, but in addition you will also enjoy imported German beer, sausages, all the oompah music you can stomach, and chicken dancing until the wee hours! Yup, the Zenner’s Oktoberfest at Oaks Park takes place this weekend, from Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27th.

Juggling FestivalPortland Juggling Festival 2009

The 17th annual Portland Juggling Festival begins this Friday evening, September 25th, and runs through Sunday the 27th.

Prop manipulation, juggling, and unicycling workshops take place throughout the weekend at the Reed College Sports Center. General admission
for the entire weekend is $35.

Our plan is to attend both the Oktoberfest and Polish Festival, both of which I consider unmissable. With luck and fortitude we will accomplish this feat!

September 25-27: Oktoberfest at Oaks Park

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2012 Oaks Park Oktoberfest info here!

Oktoberfest!Three words: Wiener dog races. That’s really all you need to know, but in addition you will also enjoy imported German beer, sausages, all the oompah music you can stomach, and chicken dancing until the wee hours! Yup, the Zenner’s Oktoberfest at Oaks Park takes place this weekend, from Friday, September 25 through Sunday, September 27th.

A glimpse inside one of the festhallen at the 2008 Oaks Park Oktoberfest
A glimpse inside one of the festhallen at the 2008 Oaks Park Oktoberfest

A variety of Paulaner beers will be on tap to accompany the schnitzel and locally produced Zenner’s sausages. Check out the Oaks Park site for the schedule of activities, including pretzel tosses, condiment art contests, and sausage eating contests, each day. And the Polkatones are back! (Download the live music and stage schedule here – pdf.).

This Oktoberfest is one of my favorite fall festivals. The setting at the river front Oaks Park is fantastic – while you’re at the festival you can go on the rides, enjoy the midway, or go roller skating. With two giant festhallen, you can stay dry if it’s raining, shaded if it’s sunny. And of course nothing beats wiener dog races for sheer squeaky toy excitement!

Wiener Dog Race (2008 Oaks Park Oktoberfest)! from Mile73 on Vimeo.

Thanks to Heather at Mile73.com for the video! She also blogged last years festival here:

Oktoberfest: Beer, Wiener Dogs and Schnitzel

Admission is only $5 ($3 for seniors, $2 for kids under 15), and the beers and food are reasonably priced.

September 19-20 (part 2): Mini Beer Fest, Sauerkraut Festival, Mt. Angel Oktoberfest

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This weekend is crazy full of activities for the Portlander, virtually all of which involve beer. Yesterday I blogged about four such events (Alberta Street Fair, Biketoberfest, Pirate Fest, and Beer with your Art), and today I have a few more for you . . .

1stminibeerfest2009The Mini Beer Fest takes place at the Green Dragon (928 SE 9th) all weekend (11am-9pm Saturday, 11 am-7 pm Sunday) Admission is $10 for admission, and includes 5 drink tickets.

60+ beers will be available from 30 small breweries, all of which produce fewer than 1000 barrels per year. Visit On Tap for more details.

Meanwhile there are at least two regional events you should bear in mind: The Mt. Angel Oktoberfest and the Sauerkraut Festival (it’s all about the kraut!) in Scappoose. Too many goddamn choices this weekend!

September 11-13: Muddy Boots, the Belmont Street Fair, and the Widmer Oktoberfest

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This is going to be a hell of a weekend. The Timbers play twice, both Friday and Sunday, and in between there is no shortage of other activities to bide your time:

Muddy BootsThe Muddy Boots Organic Festival begins Friday with keynote address by Bill McKibben, author, environmentalist, etc. You’ll need tickets for this.

Then Saturday and Sunday, September 12 and 13th, visit the grounds of St. Philip Neri Church (2408 SE 16th Avenue) to find all sorts of “organic” activities:

  • Workshops and exhibits on sustainable living
  • Local and healthy organic foods and beverages
  • Organic beer and wine
  • Kids’ activities and entertainment
  • Musical entertainment: Music schedule just added! Click here or on the “Schedule” button to see the amazing bands playing at the festival this year!

belmontstreetfair09The Belmont Street Fair takes place Saturday, September 12 from 10am to 5pm. Come out to close-in SE Portland to enjoy the vendors, music, and entertainment along Belmont Street. The main stage is at 34th, around which you will find clusters of vendors.

Find the Crafty Smackdown booth to take a look at (and maybe even buy!) some of Heather‘s paintings and Allison’s hand crafted cards (visit Allison’s etsy shop, what have you, for a preview!).

Hall of Records have also secured a booth this year. Check out their crates full of delectable, soulful vinyl treats that you’ve come to expect and crave! They will be set up right near the main stage.


Widmer OktoberfestThe 5th annual Widmer Oktoberfest takes place Saturday, September 12th in the gated lot adjacent to the brewery at 929 N. Russell Street.

Widmer’s beers, brats, sauerkraut, and pretzels are available, but that’s where the similarities to most Oktoberfests ends.

Bands playing throughout the day include the Quick & Easy Boys, Hillstomp, The Dimes, Sneakin’ Out, and Dr. Theopolis – not a whole lot of oom-pah, and I dare say no chicken dancing. Good beer though.

Review of the Mount Angel Wurstfest: Just rename it Bestfest!

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UPDATE: 2011 Wurstfest is February 12-13!

Wurstfest is the Best fest!Giant Spaten banners fluttered in the breeze outside the Oktoberfest Community Building (500 S Wilco Hwy) in Mount Angel Saturday afternoon. The melodic aspirations of an amplified accordion greeted us as we stepped from the car. The scent of sausage and sauerkraut beckoned.

In the past if you found yourself craving Bavarian-style revelry in the dead of winter, you were out of luck. But those Oktoberfest-minded geniuses in Mount Angel came up with a remedy this year: Wurstfest, a celebration of the mighty German (wurst) sausage.

In the few hours we were there the requisitely lederhosen-clad Greg Meier Alpine Quartet provided the requisite polka music.

Greg Meier Alpine Quartet

At 3pm, after eine, zwei, drei biere, we joined everyone in the beer hall to sing happy birthday to Oregon, in English and then in German.

table2

We tried the fittingly famous frickadelwurst, with sauerkraut and onions!

What the heck is frickadelwurst?

Besides fun to say, Mount Angel Sausage Company‘s fricadelwurst is a spicy chicken sausage with many different spices that create a medley of different delicious flavors that will explode in your mouth.

Indeed.

The beer was fantastic; Spaten’s Premium Helles, Optimator, Helles Bock, Pilsner, and Franziskaner Hefeweizen were available. The glühwein was good; almost as good as mine.

This was the inaugural Mount Angel Wurstfest. From what I saw, it was clearly a success.

beerhall

Let’s hope it becomes an annual tradition.

Photos courtesy of Mile73.com‘s Heather. Read her blog entry, I Went To A Sausage Fest, to learn about the profane wood carver, and to see video footage of the singing of Zum Geburtstag liebes Oregon.