Uncanny Valley

Back in the day, I X-ed my hands up like a good straightedger. I still keep my edge (thought I hardly proselytize), so I have to admit that I am one of the few who thinks this is not a bad idea. Oktoberfest has become so one-dimensional (especially in the U.S.), being reduced to yet another excuse to drink. Oktoberfest is not a celebration of beer, Bavarians just like beer. The fest should be about more, especially when it is celebrated outside of Germany.

Cullman County is a dry county, so this event was not meant as a thumb-on-the-nose for drinkers. Its intention is mainly to celebrate German heritage. The town’s founder in fact was a German refugee. Not that I think that making a family-friendly alternative to things would be a bad motive, but that may help explain what sounds like an oxymoron to many of you.

Ok, so now that that’s out of the way, you are asking, so what happens in an eight-day Oktoberfest without beer? Well, there is German food, live polka music, and polka dancing. There are also tours of the local graveyard, dirndl and lederhosen fashion show, and a wiener dog race. I think the last one almost deserves its own page. And to wash it all down, the festbrau is a sparkling (soft) apple cider called OktoberZest.

I hear there are other dry Oktoberfests out there, like at the dry campus of the University of Utah, but I don’t have much real info on that.