Oktoberfest returns to the Tragic City!

It's been a few years since Birmingham had a good Oktoberfest. I remember fondly the events hosted by the FDSK, which focused quite a bit on German music and food. This time around, beer took the front seat. You'd expect no less from a festival sponsored by Free The Hops. Rain was a bit of a downer in the first session (this fest was structured like a brew fest, in two sessions), but it was still great fun.

I got my first amusement before the fest even opened. I was met by my friend Joseph, who showed up in rented lederhosen one size too small. He couldn't bend over to tie his shoes, so our friend Jon had to help him out.

My neighbourhood brewery was, of course, there with some new brews. This cask was one of the highlights of the day for me. (Good People brewery has the best tap handles anywhere!)

It had been some years since I'd seen Die Mitternaechters. They'd played the Weindorf at Tuscaloosa's CityFest long ago, and allowed me the great plasure of seeing the mayor and the governor do the chicken dance together. This time around, they couldn't take the stage early in the day because of the wet conditions- so they played unamplified on the street instead. I really liked hearing them this way.

An overhead view of the fest, taken from the 21st Street overpass. The crowd is still a bit thin. Morris Avenue was a nice spot for the fest- not as big and sprawling as Sloss Furnaces, where we hold Magic City Brewfest.

Of course, it wouldn't be an Oktoberfest without women selling pretzels! She's made quite a bit of headway there, it looks like.

And finally....she may not have had the most authentic dirndl at the fest, but it was the sexiest. Stupid me shot it so you can't see her legs, which went a long way toward that sexiness. The white stockings would get any hetero male's heart pumping. Heck, her getup was sexier than my kilt. :) As I drove home, I saw her walking down a city street, looking very far away from her car or her apartment. I wanted to pull over and offer her a ride, but that would have been really creepy- considering we'd just met an hour before, in the line for the porta-johns. But it was that kind of day; people made friends easily, and total strangers came up and danced with me. I hope next year's fest is just as much fun.