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REMSEN CELEBRATES HERITAGE DURING 50TH ANNUAL OKTOBERFEST
The Remsen community celebrates its ties to Germany, Luxembourg and other central European countries during its annual Oktoberfest, held on Saturday, October 26th this year.
Remsen Heritage Museum board member Kurtis Kroeger is also a volunteer active in the planning and implementation of Oktoberfest. He said the event requires a tremendous multi-month volunteer effort. People are needed to manage the prince and princess event and the polka band entertainment; haul/peel/ bake/slice/mix 400-500 pounds of potatoes for the mounds of old-style German potato salad; coordinate and work in the dining room and kitchen; direct food lines and seating arrangements; serve in the beer garden; and many other tasks. Kurtis said volunteering is fun, but he joked it can turn into a lifetime commitment because you have to find and train your own replacement.
The full-day event kicks off with a craft and vendor fair at the MMCRU Middle School. Both gyms are full of vendors. Breakfast and lunch are served onsite.
In the afternoon, the action shifts over to St. Mary’s School. The Luxembourg Heritage Society of Northwest Iowa is there to help people with ancestry questions.
The society does in-depth research each year on one northwest Iowa family of Luxembourg descent and those findings are shared. “There’s a prince and princess contest where the kids have to do a polka dance and tell why Oktoberfest is important to them. The kids wear
Germanic-style clothing,” said Kurtis. A polka band performance begins about 2:30 p.m. after the contest is done. A second polka band performs at 7 p.m. For this one day of the year, St. Mary’s is designated by the priest as a community hall and consequently there is special permission to serve beer.
A traditional meal is served buffet style in the St. Mary’s cafeteria beginning at 4:00 p.m. The meal includes roast beef, broasted chicken and dressing, potatoes and gravy, hot or warm potato salad, head cheese, brats, treipen, cole slaw, sauerkraut riblets, and egg coffee. A lot of carryout business is done, especially because many farmers are in the field for harvest.
The Remsen Oktoberfest Men's Choir performs at the town’s two Lutheran churches on the Sunday before the festival. The group also performs at the nursing home in Remsen. There’s a “polka mass” at St. Mary’s on the Sunday before the event and on Saturday, October 26.
For schedule updates and other information, see the Remsen Oktoberfest page on Facebook. Any profits derived from Oktoberfest are used to support local churches, schools or other charitable organizations.
