Ocean Beach Oktoberfest to celebrate 20 years of beers and brats

Ocean Beach Oktoberfest event founder Scott Slaga, and Ocean Beach MainStreet Association, teamed up to put the beach community’s own cultural stamp on the international German festival.

Slaga, a beach entrepreneur with Winstons Beach Club in OB and 710 Beach Club in Pacific Beach, and OBMA, the community’s business improvement district, share responsibility for transforming the event, now in its 20th year, into what it has become: San Diego’s wildest Oktoberfest.

Slaga recalled being introduced to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany in 2000, which left an indelible impression.

“I’d never seen such a celebration before, 600,000 people in 20 huge beer tents, all of it bigger than a football field with 7,500 people per tent,” he said. “It was all ages and no language barriers, with people drinking and dancing and singing, packed in like sardines. The event is all about eating and drinking good German food and beer and listening to oompah bands.”

Fresh in his mind while returning to San Diego, while flying directly over the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Slaga thought, “San Diego needs an Oktoberfest.”

The inaugural OB Oktoberfest was held at Dusty Rhodes Park in 2002, then over to Del Mar before finally finding a home at the beach in OB.

Kristen Keltner, OBMA’s event and program manager, said Slaga came to OBMA and said, “Here is this idea, we need a local partner to make it happen. And OBMA said, ‘We would love to partner with you.’ Anytime someone has a great idea for a special event, we want to have a say so, to make sure it is clean and safe and also in the best interests of our merchants. OBMA also thought it could be a great weekend community event, one that could involve artists and food and vendors promoting shopping and dining and staying in OB.”

Slaga said OB Oktoberfest quickly outgrew its original location at Dusty Rhodes Park. “We have done it in OB ever since, where it expanded from a one- to a two-day event,” said Slaga about the Oct. 7-8 event this year, which takes place where Newport Avenue meets the beach.

Being outdoors, in an oceanfront setting, is what makes the event something rare and special, said Slaga. “Our Oktoberfest is different from all the others,” he noted. “We don’t follow tradition. We have some good German food and beer, but we have our own music, not oom pah. We’re right on the ocean and that always adds to the revelry. We have gimmicky contests, besides the obvious bratwurst eating and stein holding. We’re doing a balloon blow, live wrestling, and a liquid brunch with a drag show this year. It makes it different – and fun.”

“We’ve heard nothing but positive feedback from our merchants in the last few years,” said Keltner about OB Oktoberfest. “It brings a lot of people and it is really a win-win for the community. On top of that, it raises funds for OBMA, which puts it back into the community through our Clean and Safe Program. Funding also goes into holiday decorations, which we’ll have new this year, and wayfinding signage.”

The goal of the Ocean Beach Clean and Safe Program is to prioritize public safety as well as act quickly to eliminate blighted areas and beautify the neighborhood. The program involves security teams biking up and down all the alleys, streets, and sidewalks three or four days a week. They patrol on Voltaire Street, near Dog Beach, and especially along Newport Avenue.

If you are searching for a local Oktoberfest, OB more than qualifies said Slaga.

“It is laid-back beach attire, a lot of music, and a beach orientation,” he said. “If you are looking for a Southern California Oktoberfest – this is your choice.”

VIP TICKETS

VIP tickets are $49, which includes an expedited line and entrance, a custom, one-liter OB Oktoberfest stein filled with two beers, and access to an exclusive VIP area with a bar, lounge, and upgraded restrooms. Available at oboktoberfest.com.

OKTOBERFEST PROCEEDS

Proceeds benefit the Asociación Ocean Beach MainStreet, specifically the Friends of OB Program, an organization dedicated to building a thriving business district, and The Peninsula Alliance, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities and implementing change in Peninsula communities. To date, the event has given back over $750,000 and supports the Ocean Beach Mainstreet Association, The Peninsula Alliance, and Warrior Foundation Freedom Station.

OKTOBERFEST’S ORIGIN

Bavarian Crown Prince Louis, later King Louis I of Bavaria, married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810. The Bavarian royalty invited the citizens of Munich to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front of the city gates. Horse races in the presence of the royal family concluded the popular event, celebrated in varying forms all across Bavaria. The decision to repeat the festivities and the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the annual Oktoberfest, which now begins in late September and lasts until the first Sunday in October featuring German beer and food.

OKTOBERFEST SCHEDULE

Friday, Oct. 7, 4-11 p.m. in the Beer Garden ($10 entry);

4:20 p.m. – 420 Happy Hour, live pro wrestling presented by OB Rassie House, 2-for-1 drinks;

6 p.m. – Half Hour Late Band;

7:30 p.m. – Women’s Stein Contest;

8 p.m. – Stranger Band;

9:30 p.m. – Men’s Stein Contest;

10 p.m. – Paging the 90s Band.

Saturday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m.-11 p.m.

10 a.m. – Cornhole Tournament;

11 a.m. – OB Liquid Brunch; Drag Show hosted by Marian T.; (the first 500 people get a donut and a shot of Jager Cold Brew);

1 p.m. – Brat Eating;