October is almost here which means it’s time for the City of Newberry’s annual Oktoberfest event in downtown Newberry! Indulge in authentic German cuisine, music and arts and crafts vendors right in the heart of downtown!
This year’s event will take place on Saturday, October 1 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. in the downtown historic district, approximately eight city blocks.
Bridget Carey, tourism and events manager for the City of Newberry said the event will have 17 food vendors this year, with a good variety for all to enjoy.
Traveling from the upper end of Main Street, the event area begins with Community Corner that includes 13 different groups such as church, non-profit organizations and more.
In addition to Community Corner, the Newberry Humane Society and Newberry County Animal Shelter will house pet adoptions in the parking lot of Livingston’s Service Station. Pet adoptions are first come, first served for those interested in potentially adopting a pet.
The Ritz Theater, 1511 Main Street will be doing free children’s puppet shows again this year, hosted by the Newberry Community Players. The shows will be at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. put on by the Columbia Marionette Theater. Carey said this year’s show is The Tortoise and the Hare and more information on the show can be found at www.cmtpuppet.org/traveling-show.
For fans of arts and crafts, there will be 32 different vendors lining Main Street during this year’s Oktoberfest, selling a variety of items, all handmade or homemade. Carey said items in this section range from wreaths, pottery, fine art, jewelry and more.
More information on each art and craft vendor can be found at newberryoktoberfest.com by clicking on Festival Facts and then on the link under “What can you expect to see at Oktoberfest?” The list of vendors for this year’s event are listed on an interactive event map.
Headed towards Kindertown, located on Boyce Street will be the Artist Ally, reserved for the Newberry Made community. This section will feature local artisans and crafters that are members of Newberry Made and comprises of performers, potters, painters, woodworkers and more.
Kindertown
Carey said many familiar favorites of guests are returning to Kindertown this year, located in the Newberry County Courthouse parking lot. The carousel rides, rock climbing wall, wacky slide and bungee trampoline can be found in Kindertown for guests to enjoy.
The Lowe’s craft tent will be back this year to give away fun projects for children to take home and build with their families.
The carnival band organ is also in Kindertown this year as in year’s past. While in Kindertown, visitors should be on the lookout, Carey said for the accordion man, dressed in traditional German attire that will be entertaining the crowd with his music.
Kindertown is sponsored by Newberry County Memorial Hospital, and they will be in the area with children’s activities, Carey said. Vendors will also be in this area selling a variety of items geared towards children and children’s gifts.
Just outside of Kindertown, is where the first aid, fire safety, police and EMS will be located. The Newberry Fire Department will have their fire safety house on display for families to go through as well as other educational materials. For those that need assistance throughout the event, Carey said this is also where the first aid station, lost item or lost child area will be located.
Also, past Kindertown, visitors will enter the food court as well as two biergartens to enjoy. This year’s food vendors will surround Community Hall with a biergarten set up there and another in Memorial Park.
Carey encourages visitors to check in at the Newberry Arts Center (1200 Main Street) to see what activities they may have in store for this year’s event.
At the corner of Harrington and McKibben Streets, the South Carolina Midlands Muscle and Classic Car Display will be set up for visitors to view and grab a few photos.
Heading back towards Memorial Park from the car display, the event ATM will be set up for those needing cash. While some of Oktoberfest vendors will be able to accept card payments, a lot will be cash only.
Entertainment and More
The free, live music stage, known as Rocktoberfest will have entertainment all day in Memorial Park starting at 10 a.m. with Army Band performing a variety of music.
Starting at 11:30 a.m., the Three Dot Polka Band will be returning with traditional Polka music.
At 1 p.m. the judging will occur for the traditional German dress contest in three categories – Women’s Traditional Dress, Men’s Traditional Dress, and children (up to age 16). There will be no fee to enter, but Carey invites visitors to meet at the stage during this time and judging will be based on applause from the audience.
Following the costume contest, Tokyo Joe will perform a variety of musical hits, with the stage ending with a performance by Cash Money Experience until 5:45 p.m.
Housekeeping Rules
A full map of the event area is available at newberryoktoberfest.com which includes areas for free parking available to visitors.
Those that live and frequent the downtown area should expect street closures beginning at 3 p.m. Friday, September 30 as the lower part of Main Street from Caldwell to Nance Streets will be closed for the city’s “Fifth Friday” event. Road closures will expand further up Main Street that evening to the full event area.
There are many free parking areas surrounding the event area to include Friend Street, Harrington Street and spots at the Newberry County Library.
Golf carts are subject to the exact same laws and regulations as regular vehicles, and they cannot drive through the event or be parked on sidewalks or side-streets leading into the festival area. Barricades also must remain unblocked in the event of an emergency and vehicles, nor golf carts should be parked there.
There will be three portable restroom stations and a restroom trailer within the event area and those are marked on the map, Carey said.
While there will be pet adoptions ongoing throughout the event, patrons are asked to please leave their pets at home for the safety of event patrons and due to the high volume of foot traffic. However, service animals are allowed.
For more information on all things Newberry Oktoberfest, visit www.newberryoktoberfest.com.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up