Another successful Oktoberfest event is in the books.
Who knew Plant City, better known for its world-famous strawberries, could harness so much Bavarian culture and tradition?
Its second-annual Oktoberfest, which transformed downtown streets with the sights and sounds of polka music and lively dancers, drew a crowd of thousands, some who donned their very best German attire, to enjoy a fabulous evening with friends and family.
The festival’s beer gardens proved the heart and soul of the event with lines of visitors eagerly waiting to purchase their beer boot steins and taste the German beers on tap. Food lovers were equally spoiled for choice with a vast array of dishes. From sausages sizzling on the grill to traditional American fare, there was no shortage of mouthwatering options to pair with beer.
Plant City resident Joseph Newman was especially happy he attended the event. At the end of the night, as the winner of the beer-stein holding competition, he loaded a brand-new Traeger grill into his SUV.
“My wife had told me about Oktoberfest and I saw the beer stein holding contest was one of the events and I thought it would be fun so I signed up,” he said.
Newman, who works in construction and is also an avid bowler, thought he had built up just the right muscles needed to take home the prize. “I always have a drill in my right hand,” he remarked.
In the hours leading up to the event, his strategy, among other things, included holding his beer stein in his left hand. “I also wasn’t a gentleman because I had my wife holding some of my stuff,” he joked. “I rested my arm most of the night so I wouldn’t wear it out before the event started.”
Lined up with more than a dozen other contestants, after five minutes of holding a full beer stein at a 90 degree angle with a fully-extended arm, he found it was down to just him and one other contestant. “At two minutes in you really started feeling it but I just kept thinking you have to endure through pain to get what you want,” he said. “I wanted to put my arm down but all I could hear is my wife saying you’re going to win this and so I just looked out in the distance and kept thinking about the grill.”
Another six minutes later, the last contestant dropped his arm. Newman prevailed and even raised his glass a little higher before setting it down. “People wanted to shake my hand afterwards but my arm was dead,” he said.
The event wasn’t fun and games for everyone though. The Whistle Stop Café owners Marti and Jeremy Loftstrom expressed their dismay at this week’s commission meeting that street closures, which started at 9:30 a.m., affected their customers’ ability to access the restaurant. With a barbershop quartet planned to play that day, she had customers, some with mobility issues, calling to say they couldn’t find parking. “Main Street has done wonderful things for the community but Saturday is our biggest day of the week and with the Oktoberfest event the streets were closed and our business definitely dropped off that day,” said Marti. “We need to find a balance of being able to set up for the event while not restricting parking for downtown customers.”
They were hoping to be open for the Oktoberfest event but an employee’s daughter went into labor and she couldn’t work that day, leaving her short-staffed.
All A Bloom Florist owner Darcy Stottlemyer said while she’s encouraged that events are happening to show off our historic downtown, she was disappointed by the early street closures. “Closing all access to downtown seven and a half hours before the event is not good partnering,” she said. “When these events occur there should be minimal disruption to regular downtown business.”
City Manager Bill McDaniel said he heard from the Lofstroms and other downtown businesses about their concerns that morning and worked to get the street reopened until noon to accommodate the businesses that were being impacted. “I tried to react quickly to their concerns, we have to be willing to react and adjust as we need to,” he said.
While Plant City Main Street Director Dawn Hyatt doesn’t have exact event totals yet, she estimates they more than doubled with activities and attendance and hopes the event will continue to grow and be a huge success for Plant City’s merchants, residents and community. She is also thankful for the many people who helped make the event a success. “We want to first and foremost, thank the city government for their support and for all of our sponsors and volunteers who made this happen,” said Hyatt. “We could not have done it without them all.”
