A blistering Saturday in September might not feel like the ideal day for a festival, but when it’s Oxford’s third annual “Oxtoberfest,” the show must go on. More than 25 vendors set up shop and hundreds of Oxford residents and Miami University students showed up throughout the seven-hour event.
Held annually, Oxtoberfest (a local play on the more widely known Oktoberfest) brings together local businesses and pseudo-German culture to create a vibrant atmosphere for anyone to participate in.
The booths ranged from food trucks to voter registration and even included a giant pumpkin-shaped mechanical bull.
“It’s a good time to come out, hang out with your neighbors and get some good food and drinks,” Laura Metz, an employee of Shademakers Garden Center, said. “Any event that brings the community together is important, and [it’s] also important for the independent business who come up and [show] their work.”
Shademakers Garden Center created a fall-themed layout for Saturday's Oxtoberfest.
Other vendors agreed, including Grace Brock, a graduate biology student who creates and sells fiber art for The Prairie Lab. She highlighted the importance of supporting Oxford-area businesses and the unique atmosphere of Oxtoberfest.
“It’s great for the local vendors to get the chance to come out here and sell our stuff, especially right here on the street,” Brock said. “But more importantly, I think it’s really cool to celebrate a culture in a really wholesome way.”
It’s a tradition-filled day that both families and students can take advantage of, with plenty of beer, crafts and lighthearted competitions taking place.
“We saw a sign in Uptown and thought it would be kind of fun to see the list of music, maybe shop around a little bit,” Gabe Bjork, a junior finance and business analytics major, said.
Others, like Allie Mangen, a junior biology major, prefer Oxtoberfest for the small-town feel and the crowd-favorite Polka bands.
“Little events like this remind me of home,” Mangen said. “It kind of brings you out of college, which is nice. But I’d say my favorite part is just listening to the music on stage. I like those guys, they’re funny.”
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