Oktoberfest in Vienna
From left, Russ Stagg, Laura Stagg, Carol Wikander, and Stuart Wikander wear matching green Tyrolean hats with the optional white feathers and braids of the black-red-gold tricolors that were retained as the national colors of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990.
The festival and its timing is a tradition held in the town since 2008 when more than 15,000 people reportedly attended Vienna’s inaugural fest. At the time, it “exceeded expectations by over 100 percent,” according to Oktoberfest’s first chairperson Tom Hanton, as reported in the Vienna Connection, Oct. 8-14, 2008.
On Oct. 2, 2021, people, many with their leashed dogs, filled Church Street between Mill Street NE and Center Street NE. They overflowed onto Mill Street NE, and onto the Town Green, buzzing with excitement and anticipating a perfect day under the fall skies saturated an intense blue.
The entertainment line-up showcased three stages: Biergarten, Town Green, and Center Street, each with a defined music genre. Children’s activities dotted the festival map, offering bubbles and beading, games, inflatables, and crafts.
“As the owner of Vienna Singing Princesses, with 20 Vienna youth and teens, we missed this special Vienna event in 2020 so much. It is an honor to kick off Vienna Oktoberfest 2021.”
— Bailey Bane of Vienna before her princesses take the Town Green Stage
A cultural melting pot of culinary vendors lined Church St. NE and Mill St. NE — German, Asian, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, British, Persian, and more. They beckoned the passerby, not by their signs but by wafting scents of garlic, tomato, cheese, basil and saffron. Of course, brats proved the classic possibility. Chefs grilled them on-site sweet and caramelized yet spicy. Then staff snuggled them into soft rolls and added the topper.
Proceeds from Oktoberfest benefited the Vienna Business Foundation, which supports charitable organizations in the Greater Vienna area. The Vienna Business Association and Town of Vienna presented Vienna Oktoberfest 2021.