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Oktoberfest, USA If your heart says, "Go to Munich!" and your pocketbook says, "Are you crazy?" there's a compromise. Dozens of cities across the United States put on very respectable Oktoberfests. Here are some favorites for your fall planning, with 2000 dates:
September 14-17, 2000 September 14-17, 2000 September 16-17, 2000 October 19-22, 2000 November 3-12, 2000 For more on tracing your German heritage, see the April 2000 issue of Family Tree Magazine.
By Patricia McMorrow
Frankenmuth, Michigan This town between Saginaw and Flint is called Little Bavaria. And it's all German, all the time. For Oktoberfest, though, Frankenmuth goes into overdrive, with nonstop music, arts and crafts and all-you-can-eat chicken dinners. Make sure you also visit Bronner's, the most gigantic Christmas store you've ever seen. (800) 386-8696.
Mount Angel, Oregon Its proximity to prime Northwest vineyards gives Mount Angel's Oktoberfest an edge over the rest in the fine German wine department. The town's population temporarily swells from 3,000 to 35,000, many of the visitors coming from nearby Salem and Portland. (503) 845-6882.
Cincinnati, Ohio Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati has turned into the mother of all US Oktoberfests, with 500,000 people celebrating on five blocks of downtown. Besides free admission, the fest's claim to fame is an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for having 48,000 people—including the crown prince of Bavaria—do the Chicken Dance together in 1994. (513) 579-3191.
Tulsa, Oklahoma Some 200,000 people converge along the banks of the Arkansas River each year for what locals call the "Best German Fest in the West." Don't leave without eating potato pancakes, prepared by members of the German-American Society of Tulsa. (918) 596-2005.
New Braunfels, Texas The don't-miss at Wurstfest is ex-"Lawrence Welk Show" star Myron Floren. He turns non-dancers into polka monsters. Sausage-making demonstrations are big, too, if you can get over the old adage. Check out the nearby Hummel Museum and Art Gallery. New Braunfels is northeast of San Antonio and southwest of Austin. Be careful, though, as the town also has a longtime reputation as a speed trap for drivers hurrying to Wurstfest. (800) 221-4369.
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