Heralding the return of Oktoberfest

A different kind of wedding crashers help to ignite some excitement Saturday afternoon in Carol Stream.

As Jim Guter's Big Band played a medley of Glenn Miller standards, newly married bride Katie Fetters, nee Serafin, marched her wedding party into the main tent at Ross Ferraro Town Center during the annual Oktoberfest celebration.

"We were driving by when I looked over and said, 'We're going to go crash that party," said Fetters, dancing with a dozen members of her party, including her husband, Kenny.

"I really like the music," Kenny Fetters said, as the band played "Chattanooga Choo-Choo."

"That was a surprise," said bandleader, Jim Guter.

At his group's previous Oktoberfest, the band was set to play outside and got rained out.

This year's "indoor gig" provided musicians with a dry, cool place to swing, though Guter said he hadn't expected there'd be any weddings on his calendar.

Guter's group was there to warm up the crowd for the Musik Meisters, a traditional oompah band scheduled to play later.

At mid-afternoon, Allen Shelton, of Port Barrington, was ready to oompah.

Wearing his green 100 percent wool hat and a lederhosen T-shirt, bought at a Wisconsin Germanfest, Shelton awaited Mayor Frank Saverino's arrival.

It was Saverino's job to kick off the evening festivities with the tapping of the beer keg at 5:30.

"We came early because we knew there'd be activities for the kids," said Shelton, joined by his wife, and two children.

Those activities included hay rides, arts and crafts, a kid obstacle course, a juggler, and a performance by Carol Stream's own Superstar Karate team.

For Carey and Marcy Portis, the day was a welcome departure from some similar events. The family recently moved to Carol Stream and was enjoying the kid-friendly atmosphere of programs run by the village.

"I knew it wasn't going to be a bunch of keggers. You see that at other Oktoberfests all day long," Carey Portis said. "But the big band (music) was really a pleasant surprise."