The Encinitas Chamber of Commerce will host its 27th annual Oktoberfest Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., a free family- and pet- friendly regional event and artisan festival to celebrate German roots and culture.
Live entertainment will include music from the Bavarian Beer Garden Band. The dance troupes The Gemütlichkeit Alpine Dancers and the Encinitas Ballet will perform. Bach to Rock Encinitas will DJ the music at the Craft Beer Tent.
The event, which anticipates more than 15,000 participants, will feature a ceremonial parade at noon spanning one-third of a mile along Mountain Vista Drive off El Camino Real between Wandering and Rambling roads.
German and local beers will be poured, while sizzling sausages, crispy schnitzel and warm pretzels will be for sale. A family fun zone, busker street performers, games with prizes and an artisan craft fair featuring more than 200 local vendors and Encinitas businesses are highlights of this year’s event.
Additionally, Van & Gram will be on hand with their 1980 VW Vanagon “Penelope Cruise” for festival-goers to take Oktoberfest fun photos.
To reduce the event’s environmental impact, the Encinitas Chamber of Commerce announced it has partnered with the Rob Machado Foundation to provide water refill stations and a free shuttle running to and from the Flora Vista Elementary School parking lot to the corner of Mountain Vista and Wandering Road from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. There will be parking for bicycles at each end of the event.
The German roots of Encinitas go back to the northeastern colony of Olivenhain, which was founded by German farmers in 1884.
–City News Service