Oxford community gathers uptown for local 'Oxtoberfest' celebration
Oxford residents celebrated the arrival of fall with beer, bounce houses and more during the city's third annual Oxtoberfest.
On Sept. 21, Oxford held its third annual Oxtoberfest celebration. Vendors lined the streets as community members and students alike gathered Uptown on a closed-off High Street, celebrating Oxford’s twist on the German celebration.
In classic Oktoberfest fashion, the event featured a variety of German beers, as well as different German foods such as pretzels and bratwursts. In addition to this, musicians performed live throughout the entire celebration, including Polka, traditional Oktoberfest tunes and contemporary celtic music.
In addition to the traditional German food and drink options, attendees had access to different food choices, such as pizza, donuts and The Loaded Goat Cafe.
Kids also had plenty of opportunities to join the festivities. Activities included bungee jumping, a bounce house and axe-throwing, as well as pumpkin painting, a mechanical pumpkin ride and other activities.
In addition to the variety of vendors, food and activities, there were also multiple groups set up during the event to educate people on getting registered to vote for the upcoming election. One of these groups was the League of Women Voters, who were handing out information for requesting absentee ballots.
Genevieve Grenz, owner of JG Jewelry, had a booth set up at the event. For Grenz, a highlight of Oxtoberfest was running into different people and seeing everyone. Grenz said that the event was very diverse.
“There’s a great amount of people,” Grenz said. “They got the food, they got the activities, they got the music. It’s a great place for people … and that’s great for vendors and for customers.”
Grenz began her business as a financially independent student at Miami University. She used her love of vintage jewelry to help support her education. She also helped to start the College Artisan Shop as a way to sell her product.
“Oxford’s pretty good, in general, at creating events for people to be engaged in that don’t necessarily have the pretense of spending money,” Grenz said.
Grace Brock was at the event representing her business, The Prairie Lab, which is composed of a group of five graduate students in the biology department. They would frequently craft together, which led to them
“It’s incredibly fun to see people passionate about a culture. I think it’s always really cool,” Brock said. “It’s a great opportunity to just get outside and be part of the community.”
The business was set up at the Farmers Market in the morning, so they stayed out to participate in Oxtoberfest. Despite the long day, Brock made time to get food for herself, too — a pretzel and a snow cone.
Sierra Briscoe attended the event to celebrate her sister's birthday. Instead of going to Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest, she decided to celebrate in Oxford, and she really appreciated the use of the pun “Oxtoberfest.”
Briscoe grew up in Oxford and graduated from Talawanda High School in 2013. She said she preferred the Oxford version of the celebration as it was a smaller dose of the event than Cincinnati’s take on the festival.
“Anyone who’s interested in Oktoberfest, I feel like Oxford is a little bit chewable. It’s off the beaten path so you’re able to find parking, you’re able to bring your pets and not have to worry about it being too condensed in a crowd,” Briscoe said. “... Everyone loves Oktoberfest.”
Reena Murphy, Oxford’s sustainability coordinator, helped with zero waste efforts and shared recycling and composting options with attendees of the festival.
In addition to her work with Oxtoberfest, Murphy also helped to organize the Hike-A-Thon. The event took place at DeWitt Cabin, and roughly 500 people came out for the event.
“People love the Hike-A-Thon. It’s a nostalgic event, it’s been around forever,” Murphy said. “It was great. We had a great turnout.”
This year, the equestrian team brought horses out for the Hike-A-Thon. Because of the large turnout, Murphy said they ran out of shirts before 10 a.m.
People who attended both the Hike-A-Thon and Oxtoberfest were able to receive a commemorative cup.
For Murphy, a highlight of events like Oxtoberfest is that they have all sorts of options such as drinks, food, music and even mechanical pumpkins. She called it an incredible event and said it exists to celebrate Oktoberfest with an Oxford twist.
“I just love seeing everyone out enjoying Oxford together,” Murphy said. “I think it’s a great community event, and there’s something here for everyone.”
