Main Street Kent hosted Oktoberfest on Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. featuring live entertainment, German food and a variety of beer. Local businesses really brought the life to the event.
Bell Tower Brewing, North Water Brewing and Madcap Brewing Co. were a few of the local breweries to make an appearance. Jennifer Herman, the head griller and co-founder of Bell Tower Brewing and Briggete Tipton, another co-founder, promoted the brewery at the event.
“It’s been quite successful,” Herman said. “This is the first time Main Street has had the local Kent Breweries involved in the event. We’re very happy to be here.”
Along the street were beer trucks providing a variety of seasonal beers, ales and ciders.
Bell Tower featured Marvin’s Marzen, a special type of lager at the event. The beer is named after Marvin Kent, a railroad president and Co-founder of the city of Kent. Marzen is German for “March” and is a style of beer brewed in March that is served in early fall.
Local restaurants were present selling a variety of German food to all ages. Hungry patrons could find bratwursts, sauerkraut, pierogis, pretzels and cabbage among the vendors.
Daisy Pops had a tent with fall cake pops in collaboration with Bell Tower Brewing, who were serving charcuterie boards. Tacos Tontos got in on the event as well, offering an Oktoberfest Burrito that contained potatoes, cheese, knockwurst, sauerkraut and beer cheese.
The Kent Fire Department attended the event for the first time and sold bratwurst sandwiches as a fundraiser.
Partick Hasely, one of the firemen there, said they want to be at Oktoberfest yearly.
“It’s been good, it’s been a slow start, but it’s been great,” Hasely said. “This is the first time we’ve done it this year.”
Live bands performed throughout the day at the Hometown Bank Plaza. The Mike Wojtila Trio played polka while bands like Van Sailin’ and Ringer provided rock.
The German Family Society Youth Dancers were also present and easily recognizable by their traditional dresses and lederhosen. They performed traditional dance routines on the street.
Crowds gathered around the Hometown Bank Plaza to watch this year’s Steinholding Competition.
Steinholding is a Bavarian strength contest in which contestants must hold out a full glass of beer stein without dropping their arms. There were men’s and women’s competitions at both 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Prizes were awarded to those who could follow the rules the longest.
This year’s Oktoberfest was able to provide all the essentials found in Bavaria. The streets were crowded throughout the entire day. Tipton said the streets were packed from the moment the event began.
Andrew Bowie is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
Erin Sullivan is a TV2 reporter. Contact her at [email protected]
