Oktoberfest 2008 takes a bow

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By MARK GUNDERMAN
mark.gunderman@lee.net
Monday, September 22, 2008 3:06 PM CDT

It was a tremendous weekend for Chippewa Falls’ sixth annual Oktoberfest. So what was the reason for the success? Was it the tradition of good times the festival has built? The new attractions? Or the magnetic personalities of Festmeister and Festmeistern Dale and Mary Zwiefelhofer?

As much as Dale would like to believe he and Mary brought people out, he admits there were other factors that were far more significant, not the least of which was the perfect weather. But people can enjoy a nice day anywhere.

“Look at the entertainment,” Dale Zwiefelhofer said on Sunday. “Last night the band in the Chippewa Valley Newspapers tent, you couldn’t get them to go home. No one wanted to leave.”

The band, Section 8, reportedly played to well after the 11 p.m. closing time Saturday, as Oktoberfest patrons wanted to keep the party going.

“We had at least half a dozen new bands,” said Bill Febry, the first Festmeister and still an active member of the Oktoberfest planning committee.

But that wasn’t all. The Narren, a group of wooden-masked German characters from New Ulm, Minn., and the Glockenspiel from Milwaukee’s famed German Fest were popular new additions this year.

Both Febry and the Zwiefelhofers had high praise for the Narren.

“They danced at all the stages, and they appealed to children and people of all ages,” said Febry.

“The Narren really helped people get out on the dance floor,” said Dale Zwiefelhofer, describing how the various characters would take people by the hand and encourage them to come out and dance.

The characters could frequently be seen at various demonstrations on Saturday, in the paraded on the grounds, and at interactive presentations in the family building.

The Glockenspiel proved to be very popular, with big crowds gathering at each of the presentations at two-hour intervals.

“There were 200 people at their first performance on Friday,” Febry said.

And it wasn’t just that. The men who performed the Glockenspiel hang around in the Lederhosen, mingling with the crowd.

“They made for a great atmosphere,” said Mary Zwiefelhofer.

The new entertainment and the weather contributed to that great atmosphere, but it was more than that. From the beginning, the Oktoberfest planners strove to make it a family event, and it succeeded in bringing in the crowds.

“Crazy George,” the wandering accordion player who entertains crowds with his son, George, Jr, commented to Dale Zwiefelhofer on Sunday, “This is apple pie and grandma and the U.S.A. right here.”