The Place Where Ludington Talks
Oktoberfest in September
This weekend, on Friday and Saturday,the Downtown Ludington Board sponsored another Oktoberfest in cooperation with Bell's Beer (often spelt with a 'c' in other years). What made it slightly odd was that the event took place fully in September.
Now, if I just made fun of them for poor scheduling, I would likely be made fun of for not understanding that it is not unheard of for having Octoberfests start in the month before October. Surely, the original Oktoberfest celebrated the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess T... was on Oct. 12, 1810. It lasted five days and was such a hit that it caught on in succeeding years even without a contingent royal wedding occurring.
The roots of Oktoberfest actually goes back to 15th century Bavaria. The brewing season there ran from October to March. Beer brewed during the hot season tasted bad, so in late winter, brewers would work extra hard to make enough beer to last all summer. The high alcohol content and storage in casks in cool cellars and caves would preserve it.
After the summer’s grain was harvested, brewers needed to empty those casks to make room for the October start of the brewing season. People were happy to help, and often had to start drinking heavily and long to accomplish the task from September to early October. It also helps that September weather is more accommodating for some activities enjoyed by revelers, so September became a starting point for future Oktoberfests.
This is why since the 1810 wedding, where much of the previous year's beer had been mostly consumed by early imbibers, the event has morphed into a two week festival almost always beginning in September and winding down in early October. Over the years, the festival was extended and combined with finishing off the March beers, even though modern refrigeration and storage tech has made the need less necessary, evolving into today’s party attended by millions around the world in many different locales.
Oktoberfest in modern Bavaria, not modern Ludington
So whereas, it may seem oddly amusing for the Ludington DDA to schedule their Octoberfest solely for a few hours in September, they are not effectively going against the Oktoberfest tradition (unlike their celebration of St. Patrick's Day on the Saturday nearest to the real holiday, March 17th). It does seem to go against their stated objective to increase the length of the tourist season.
Moving Ludington's Oktoberfest into September and putting up snow fences at Stearns' Park just after Labor Day both seem to indicate city leaders if anything are trying to shorten the tourist season. On a walk out to the lighthouse early this pleasant October afternoon, I passed 32 people going the opposite direction on my way out and 23 on my way in, not counting the father taking his two kids out fishing midway to the beacon. The fencing up across most of the beach, still looks untested by wind.
It's enough to drive some to drink heavily in October for the missed opportunities.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Pitt Viper on
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Right on IHAN! Willy sounds like the kind of slime we hear about in real life and on shows like Law & Order: SVU, claiming that women get raped because they ask for it. Or one of those ignorant idiots that believe a woman's body has a built in mechanism to take care of pregnancy in cases of rape or incest. Or that when a woman says no, she really means yes. He is not typical and does not speak even in part for any men that I know of. Willy, stop wriggling around in the snake pit.
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The ladies are doing that themselves as seen by the clothes they wear and how they behave. Extremely tight pants and shirts, short skirts, tiny shorts, bikinis that weigh less than an ounce and any number of revealing clothing. Then you have all of the selfies they post of themselves, many of which are nudes. Men only react to what females are doing. Ihaveanotion needs to take a look at who is really lowering the morals and ethics of women now days. It certainly isn't the guys.
Sounds like one angry dwarf
Or maybe an angry Puritan?
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I just wanted to fit in....
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Permalink Reply by Willy on
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ihaveanotion. I object to your objection regarding my objectification of certain females who expose their boobs. I could have made them smaller but then the models would all object. Would that have been objectionable. Actually what your seeing is the before and after pictures of a breast enlargement clinic at the old drive in site near Ponchos Pond called "Dr. Cleavage objectification clinic". She advertises in the Ludington Daily News.
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I agree dianne. Men are not doing what ihaveanotion accuses them of. The ladies are doing that themselves as seen by the clothes they wear and how they behave. Extremely tight pants and shirts, short skirts, tiny shorts, bikinis that weigh less than an ounce and any number of revealing clothing. Then you have all of the selfies they post of themselves, many of which are nudes. Men only react to what females are doing. Ihaveanotion needs to take a look at who is really lowering the morals and ethics of women now days. It certainly isn't the guys.
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Sounds like one angry dwarf.
Or maybe an angry Puritan?
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