Tonight I went to the Montrose Oktoberfest on Honolulu Blvd. This was my first visit to this street festival and most likely my last.
When I first arrived, I drove around looking for parking. I couldn’t find anything nearby so I had to park a mile away. I like walking so this wasn’t a big deal but I didn’t like the idea of wasting gas while driving around the area looking for a space. Gas prices are at a record high right now ($4.89 per gallon in my area and rising about $.20 a day). I wish I would have known ahead of time about the parking and maybe I would have just taken a bus.
When I first reached the festival area, I noticed it was packed in the ride and gaming area. There were numerous rides available, including a ferris wheel. They had the usual carnival games and prizes. In the alleys and parking lots, they had stages for bands to play.
Once I got past the ride and game area, I started to notice the food and beer booths. It turns out that all food and drinks had to be purchased with tickets. Each ticket was $2. So a 4 ticket beer actually cost $8. I wouldn’t mind if it was imported German beer but for the most part, everyone was drinking Budweiser. There were only 2 German beers available throughout the festival. And it was worse with the food. The only German food available was Bratwurst (with or without sauerkraut), potato salad and strudel. I did partake in the German Beer and Bratwurst (with sauerkraut) combo but I wasn’t impressed. I was actually upset that I spent $20 on food tickets. My beer and bratwurst basically cost me $12 then I spent another $8 on pretzels and churros. A complete waste of money, in my opinion.
I have to say, as a German American (as well as French Canadian, Polish, and Italian American) I was very disappointed in this so-called “Oktoberfest.” I grew up in Michigan where there are German festivals throughout the state. We have Frankenmuth–an entire Bavarian city. This festival in Montrose would be better named BudweiserFest or the Montrose Fall Festival because an Oktoberfest it is not. I don’t think I will ever go back and I wouldn’t recommend this festival to anyone who lives in the area.
Define Normal 