Fest will take over brewery event

La Crosse Tribune, May 05, 2004 by Magney, Reid, Kent, Joan

Oktoberfest will have a third fest grounds at City Brewery, under an agreement reached by Oktoberfest and City Brewery officials.

Last fall, City Brewery put on City Fest at the same time as Oktoberfest, offering its locally brewed products and entertainment. Customers didn't have to buy a button to attend.

Brewery officials said they put on the event because they couldn't get their full range of products served at Oktoberfest's North and South Side grounds. They wanted to take advantage of the number of visitors and expose them to City's products.

Under the agreement, Oktoberfest will run the festival at City Brewery, which will be called the Brewery Festgrounds, said Oktoberfest President Myrna Schmidt. An Oktoberfest button will be required for admission, and the events will feature local beers, she said.

The LaCrosse Common Council's Judiciary and Administration Committee on Tuesday approved a special event outdoor cabaret license for La Crosse Festivals Inc., which holds Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest will receive the proceeds from the beer and food sales, Schmidt said.

The arrangement will expand Oktoberfest grounds and enable the celebration to reach people who might not go to the other two grounds, said Steve Webster, president of the Oktoberfest board of trustees.

Schmidt said there will be polka music inside the City Brewery Hospitality Center, which has a dance floor that is better suited for polka than the concrete floors at the other fest grounds. "It's a win-win situation. It's a good partnership," Schmidt said.

Oktoberfest is "mindful it's a neighborhood area," Schmidt said, adding that entertainment at the Brewery Festgrounds won't go past 9:30 p.m.

The event will be held in the City Brewery parking lot from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 24, noon to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 25, noon to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 29. It will feature a one-man polka band Friday, a rock band Saturday, local musicians' jam Sunday and country band Wednesday.