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ALTON - “Zicke, zacke, zicke, zacke, hoi, hoi hoi!”
As steins crash together and the German beer topples out of their glasses after a toast (or "Ein Prosit" in its native tongue), the ceremonial keg tapping at the Ninth Annual St. Mary’s Oktoberfest kicked off yet another fantastic weekend of events, delicious food, music, family fun and more in Downtown Alton.
In arguably the most authentic Oktoberfest celebration in the area, St. Mary’s Catholic Church celebrated its parish’s German heritage with delectable spirits and dishes, live polka music to make you tap your toes and do a little jig all the while enjoying the company of one’s fellow parishioner.
“This is our ninth year for the St. Mary’s Oktoberfest,” Oktoberfest chairperson Erin Ventimigla said. “It’s in celebration of St. Mary’s parish’s German heritage. We started it for the 150th anniversary of St. Mary’s and it keeps growing bigger and better every year.
“It’s a great event. There’s something for everybody at St. Mary’s Oktoberfest,” she said.
Not only do parishioners get to rekindle their friendships over the weekend, several priests from around the country come to Oktoberfest to visit their brothers in Christ and share in the weekends’ splendors.
“What brings me to Oktoberfest this year as always is an opportunity to see my oblate brothers here at the parish and all the wonderful people here at St. Mary’s church and school, and to share in the awesome fellowship that takes place during Oktoberfest and the joy and the blessing that this is for the school,” Father Jeremy Paulin, Vocation Director of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in the United States, said.
“I love Oktoberfest because everything is so much fun,” event attendee Mary Eckhouse said. “We get to see people that we don’t get to see every week if you don’t go to a certain mass, so you miss a lot of your friends. I like the wine, I’m not a big beer drinker myself. I love the food. Brats are my favorite, but the skillet I always save for dinner. Everybody should come out to the Oktoberfest because you’re missing a lot of the entertainment, a lot of good food and great drinks.”
Oktoberfest continues on Sunday until 10:00 p.m., so guests still have an opportunity to make it out to St. Mary’s for one last day of authentic German cuisine, music and an all around great time to be had by all.
Prior to the keg tapping, St. Mary’s own Father John Paul Klein, OVM took a moment to bless the keg and its contents within:
“May God, who could alone change water into wine, and continues to perform wonders among us, filling the hungry and satisfying the thirsty, giving us the grains of the field to bring joy to our hearts, may He now grant that now who drink this beer may rejoice in Him and one day know the joy and delights of His heavenly table. And so, Lord, we ask that you bless this keg and this beer in the name of the Father, and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen!”
For more information about St. Mary's Oktoberfest, visit their website by clicking here.
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