OREGON, Ohio — Get ready for beer, brats, music and more at the 58th annual German-American Festival, returning to Oak Shade Grove this weekend. Here's everything you need to know about the festivities.
When and where
The German-American Festival is held at Oak Shade Grove at 3624 Seaman Road in Oregon, just a half-mile east of Coy Road, where it's been held annually since 1987. Prior to that, the festival was held at Raceway Park on Telegraph Road, the the Lucas County Recreation Center, before finally moving to Oak Shade Grove.
The event will be held during the following times:
- Friday: 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
- Saturday: 2 p.m. to 1 a.m.
- Sunday: Noon to 8 p.m.
Things to do
Music and dance
A variety of musical performances will be featured throughout the weekend, including German cultural performances from D'Holzhacker Baum Schuhplatter Gruppe (who perform a traditional wood-cutting dance, axes included) and the Deutsche Volkstanze Gruppe (folk dancing). Performances from bands such as Phenix and the Alpine Blast Trio will also be held.
Multiple venue performances are featured around the grounds of Oak Shade, including the Main Stage, Weingarten and Schwabenhalle.
For a full schedule of music and dance acts, click here.
Feeling sporty?
Swiss Steintossen: Participants compete to see who can throw a rock the furthest. Saturday and Sunday at the Arena from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
WTOL 11 photojournalist Gina White will make an appearance at the Swiss Steintossen, where she'll compete to see who can throw boulders the farthest. Come out to cheer her on!|
Masskrugstemmen: Stone lifting competition. They lift, but don't throw. Saturday at the Arena at 7:30 p.m.
Soccer: Feeling some Fußball? They play at the soccer field on the Oak Shade grounds at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
The Beer Mile: Can you drink four beers AND run one mile? If you think you can, sign up (at your own risk) here. The run kicks off at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Eat and drink
Beer, brats, kraut and more are on the menu this weekend. Here are a few of the featured treats and snacks you can find at the event:
Food
- Potato pancakes
- Chicken
- Schnitzel sandwiches
- Bratwurst
- Pommes Frites (fries)
- Imported breads, cheeses and meats
- Pastries
Beverages
- German-flag layered drink
- German Chocolate Cupcake drink
- Gummi Bear Drink
- German draft and package beers
- German wines
- Soft drinks, malt drinks
For a full list of food and beverages at the festival, click here.
Parking and transportation
The German-American Festival includes 70 acres of free parking for visitors. The parking areas can be entered from Starr Avenue, Corduroy Road or Seaman Street. People movers area also available in the parking area accessible from Seaman and Corduroy roads.
Accessible parking is available directly in front of the festival grounds.
For those in need of transportation to the festival, shuttles are available from the following locations for $10, round-trip.
- Ye Olde Cock N Bull
- Bar 145
- La Fiesta (no Sunday runs)
- Mayfly Tavern Bar & Grill (no Sunday runs)
Shuttle departure times are as follows:
- Friday: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Saturday: 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Sunday: Noon to 5 p.m.
Last bus leaves the Festival at 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Shuttles from the Hollywood Casino are free and begin on Friday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. No Sunday runs are offered from the Hollywood Casino.
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Fun facts!
- The German-American Festival's mascots, raccoon Moritz and Mitzi, were adopted after the city of Oregon, Ohio, where the festival is held, named Rocky the Racoon their city mascot. The city adopted the racoon as their city mascot in 2007 to commemorate Oregon's 50th year as a city. Raccoons were common in Oregon during the time of the Great Black Swamp.
- Sauerkraut does not mean "angry cabbage" as is sometimes circulated online. "Sauer" can mean angry, just as "sour" in English can mean both the flavor and someone's temperament. In this case, "sauer" refers to the sour flavor of fermented cabbage. The German word for cabbage is "Kohl," while "Kraut" means herb. So literally-speaking, Sauerkraut means "sour herb."
- Although the German-American Festival is not an Oktoberfest celebration, it does resemble it. Oktoberfest is a 17-day festival in Germany that - despite its name - begins in mid-September and ends in the first few days of October. In 2014, Munich's famous Oktoberfest served 1.7 million gallons of beer.
- There are two German words for potato: "die Kartoffel," which is the most well-known, and "der Erdapfel," which is more common in southern Germany. Like sauerkraut, this one's literal translation is somewhat misleading: "earth apple."
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