Members of the Portsmouth community gathered Oct. 5 on Market Square to celebrate Oktoberfest, one of the area’s most popular annual events. Oktoberfest is a German festival that is put on by Friends of Portsmouth, a nonprofit organization that works for the betterment of the city.
Admission to the festival is free of charge and open to everyone. Anyone 21 years old or older can pay $30 to gain access to samples from booths representing over 30 breweries set up around the square. One $30 payment gives the purchaser 10 tickets to sample beers of their own choosing. While this festival boasted lots of opportunities for beer lovers, there were also lots of other family-friendly activities to participate in for free.
“I enjoy the Oktoberfest because it is a great opportunity for the community to come together and enjoy our beautiful town and local businesses,” one festival-goer said.
In an area away from the brewery stands, there was a large assortment of fall-themed games and activities for children and their families, including but not limited to: pumpkin bowling and making pretzel necklaces. The festival also featured live music with lots of local performers on stage. After playing some games and listening to live music, attendees could visit two food trucks that were set up on site. This year the food trucks were Schmidt’s Sausage Truck, where German food was being served, and The Naughty Lobstah, which serves many different lobster entrees.
For adults, Oktoberfest had three scheduled events throughout the day. At 1 p.m., a crosscut competition, which is a traditional lumber jack-inspired challenge, was held. Later in the day, at 2:50, people were encouraged to participate in a “sausage toss,” where partners threw a German sausage back and forth until they dropped the sausage and/or broke it. Whichever team was left standing got to be the “sausage queen and king.” Finally, at 5 p.m., Oktoberfest staff announced who was dressed in the best German attire, the lederhosen and dirndl.
