OREGON, Ohio — Brats, beer, potatoes and more!
It's that time of year again for thousands of visitors to celebrate German culture at Oak Shade Grove in Oregon.
As the German American Festival opens the beer taps for guests, volunteers were on hand the day before prepping 2,500 pounds of German potato salad.
Festival Chair Mike Willinger says the festival, now in it's 57th year, wouldn't be possible without the hard work of the volunteers from the 7 German American clubs who host the annual event.
"Getting all of the volunteers lined up, doing all of this work. We've been out here for the last three weeks setting this up, these tents have been up since August the 3rd," said Willinger.
Since moving the festival to Oak Shade Grove in 1987, festival goers from across the region and tri-state area have enjoyed the authentic food, beer, music and dancing.
Event organizers say the annual event would be impossibel to host without the dedicated work of their German club volunteers.
"2,000 to 2,500 volunteers serving food, serving beer, parking crews for our three parking lots, gates and ticket booths. I mean, it's just unbelievable how many people it takes to run a festival like this," said Willinger.
The volunteers said along with the fun, the festival is an important way of celebrating the heritage of the German immigrants who came to the area in the mid-1800's.
"Me and my dad, we're German heritage and it's great to see people enjoying the culture from any background. Anyone can come out and have a good time and learn a thing or two about German culture," said first time volunteer Aaron Wilhelm.
"It's very important that the younger generations all know who they are and where they're from. That they learn the culture that they're from, that they learn their traditions and values. And it makes them part of the family," said Anita Raymond, who says she has either attended or volunteered at every GAF.
Organizers say they have worked to improve the lines for food and beer with crowd corrals and have brought back a VIP experience with a private tent featuring exclusive music performances and food.
"Those are the kind of improvements we keep looking at, trying to make it a better experience," said Willinger.
The 2023 German American Festival kicks off on Friday, Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. and will wrap up the festivites on Sunday, Aug. 27 at 8 p.m.
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