Rotary Club of Palatine’s Oktoberfest returns with beer, music, bike ride, scarecrow contest
Bring your appetite for beer, music, food and games to the Rotary Club of Palatine’s 17th annual Oktoberfest, which will take place Friday, Sept. 19, through Sunday, Sept. 21, in downtown Palatine.
Event hours are 5 p.m. to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Saturday is designated as Family Day, featuring games, crafts, and entertainment for children. The festival takes place on the corner of Smith and Slade streets south of the Metra train station, with proceeds from the event benefiting local charities and community projects in the Palatine area.
Admission is free to this event that features authentic German music, food, beverages and activities for all ages.
“We kick off the festival on Friday at 5 p.m.,” said Joe Mazzocchi, Palatine Rotary president. “The blessing and tapping of the keg will start our Oktoberfest event. Come celebrate in your lederhosen and dirndl!”
Rotary is collaborating with several organizations to create a low waste event. Composting and recycling stations will be in place to reduce landfill waste. With support from the Palatine Jaycees, they will be adding a water refilling station to the event.
“Our club is concerned about the environment, and this event provides an opportunity for us to contribute to keeping the community clean in a fun and environmentally friendly manner,” said Randy Klingner, Palatine Rotary environmental chairman.
“Everyone knows beer is a large component of any Oktoberfest celebration,” said Al Stoeckel, beer chairman. “There are a number of beers being poured this year. Paulaner Pils which is an imported full-flavored German Pilsner. Another beer on our menu, Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen is a medium amber lager. We also have Hacker-Pschorr Weissbier which is naturally cloudy, full-flavored and uniquely refreshing as well as Paulaner Grapefruit Radler a fruity-tart, 100% natural, not too sweet beer since it’s made with less sugar than common radlers. We will also be offering different varieties of wine, including merlot and Pinot Grigio, as well as White Claw hard seltzer.”
The event will also feature authentic German food from vendors including Morkes Chocolates, Tap House Grill, Friends of the Rotary, Tre Amici Pizza, Kooker’s, Annie’s Restaurant & Pancake Shop, Daisy’s Ice Cream Shop and Rep’s Burgers. Morkes will have a variety of caramel apples, spiced doughnuts and other sweet treats. Tap House Grill will offer pretzels with cheese, deep fried schnitzel chicken bites, sauerbraten pot roast sliders and potato salad. Pop and water will be available for purchase from the Rotary Club of Palatine.
The Friends of the Rotary will be cooking brats and hot dogs. Tre Amici will feature sausage, German and Reuben pizza. Kooker’s will have brats, a Leberkaese sandwich, a German pretzel with cheese, salads and desserts. Annie’s will have German crepes and benedicts, Hungarian goulash and caramel apple cheesecake. Daisy’s will feature ice cream sandwiches, fudge brownie sundaes and ice cream floats. Rep’s Burgers will serve their spätzle, knockwurst and their German style burger.
Musical entertainment will kick off on Friday night with Die Musikmeisters from 5 to 8:30 p.m. followed by Phenix from 9 p.m. to midnight. Saturday’s entertainment includes Alpine Thunder from noon to 3:30 p.m., Heimat und Trachten Verein Edelweiss with traditional German dances between 3:30 and 5 p.m., Die Kellerknaben from 5 to 8 p.m., followed by Polkaholics from 9 p.m. until midnight. The musical line up on Sunday features Phenix from 2 to 6 p.m.
Games and activities for Family Day will be on Saturday from noon until 3:30 p.m. with face painting, balloon art, fire department displays, children’s raffle prizes and birdhouse building by Home Depot. At approximately 12:30 p.m., the winners of Scarecrows on Parade, a scarecrow decorating contest sponsored by the village of Palatine, will be announced. This year, Family Day will feature an Oktoberfest Family Bike Ride sponsored by the Bike Palatine Club on Saturday morning at Towne Square on the corner of Smith and Slade Streets. Riders are asked to meet at 10:30 a.m. and the ride will start at 11 a.m. Visit bikepalatine.com for more information.
“We will be selling raffle tickets for the chance to win one of our wine, liquor, or merchant baskets as well as other great prizes,” said Mazzocchi. “We also have wheelbarrows of beer and a grill. Tickets are $5 each or $20 for five tickets. We will hold the drawing on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. and winners need not be present.”
For details, visit palatinerotary.org, find them on Facebook or email oktoberfest@palatinerotary.org.
The Rotary Club of Palatine meets at 7:30 a.m. every Tuesday at Annie's Restaurant and Pancake House, 154 W. Northwest Hwy., Palatine. For information, email info@palatinerotary.org.