To celebrate the 122nd 182nd Oktoberfest, one of the most famous festivals in the world, FiDi German restaurant Schroeder's (240 Front St.) is hosting its own miniature version in the heart of downtown.
This Friday from 3-8:30pm, Front Street will be closed from Sacramento to California streets for the party, featuring a Bavarian-style outdoor biergarten with benches and tables for outdoor dining and drinking. Polkalicious will provide music starting at 5pm, and polka dancing is planned as well.
Contests will include the chicken dance, sausage eating and the entertaining stein-holding contest, in which hardy men and women compete to see who can support a full stein of beer with an outstretched arm the longest.
The first weekend of festivities, sponsored by Hofbräu, will include Oktoberfest beer and an outdoor grill serving up German specialties like wiener schnitzel, bratwurst, spätzle and pretzels. Food from inside Schroeder's can be taken outdoors as well. Admission is free; food and drink are extra. Dirndls and lederhosen are encouraged, and about 1,000 visitors are expected.
After that, Schroeder's will continue the celebration for the next five Fridays and Saturdays, with live bands from 6–9pm and plenty more beer-hall games. Here's the schedule:
- September 25th: Blow Musik
- September 26th: Tom Lander Band Trio
- October 2nd and 3rd: AlpenBand California
- October 9th: Blow Musik
- October 10th: JD Limelight, accordion player
- October 16th: AlpenBand California
- Oct. 17th: Joe Smiell Band
- October 23rd: Blow Musik
- October 24th: JD Limelight, accordion player
Schroeder's, which was founded in 1893, closed for the first four months of 2014 for an overhaul by Jan Wiginton and Andy Chun, who also own Yerba Buena Lane's Press Club. The renovated restaurant reopened on May 5th, 2014. Over the course of the year, chef Manfred Wrembel has tweaked the menu, adding back traditional plates while continuing to offer lighter, more contemporary flavors. An extensive menu of German beer and wine is offered.
The original Oktoberfest kicks off Sept. 19th in Munich, running through Oct. 4th. It began in Bavaria as a celebration of the October 12th, 1810 marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig (later to become King Ludwig I) to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The festivities lasted five days, culiminating in a horse race on Oct. 17th.
The annual party was later pushed back into September to take advantage of warmer weather, according to the official Oktoberfest website. However, the celebration hasn't been held every year since 1810, so although this is the 122nd 182nd Oktoberfest, it's not the 122nd 182nd anniversary. It is, however, the 122nd anniversary of the party at Schroeder's.
