When Ryan Munson, the owner of Munson and Brothers Trading Post, was organizing his initial Oktoberfest celebration in 2020, he never imagined the community rallying around the event as much as they have year after year.
But that’s also been the same kind of support the eatery has seen from the community across its events over the last six years since it opened that same year.
“This coincides with our six-year anniversary of being open,” Munson said. “… This is a time of reverence for us just to be thankful that we are where we are and that has grown very much organically to this point. … And it just marks a lot for me on where I’m at, just personally, and then in our business growth.”
Now the event is returning larger than ever, Munson said, and he hopes to see its largest crowd yet this weekend.
Serving as a kickoff for the three-day celebration starting at about 5 p.m. Friday, Mayor Stephen Jones, for the second year, will open the Oktoberfest celebration with a prost (the German word for “cheers” or a toast).
Musical performances will follow shortly after from Delta Krauts, a seven-piece polka band, until 8 p.m., and The Bouncing Betty will close out the evening’s performances.
Munson said each night will close as it has for the last six festivals with a song for the crowd to sing together, which was inspired by his travels to Germany three years ago.
The festivities on Saturday will start at 8:30 a.m. at the Lowndes County Courthouse with check-in for Main Street Columbus’s Barktoberfest pet parade and costume contest. The parade will start at 9:30 a.m. and go from the courthouse through downtown before ending at Munson and Brothers Trading Post.
At 9 a.m. a family donut 5K will begin outside the eatery, followed at 10:30 a.m. by the annual beer 5K. Both races are hosted in support of the Frank P. Phillips YMCA in Columbus, said Salem Gibson, volunteer organizer for the race.
Registration for the donut 5K is $30, while the beer 5K is $40 for individuals and $32 per person for a three-member relay team, the race’s website said.
“We have kids that do the donut run in the morning, and parents can push a baby carriage and walk and just have a good time,” Gibson said. “And then the people that want to take it serious can take it serious, but with the knowledge that it’s all for a good cause.”
Afterward, Golden Triangle Homeless Coalition will feature roughly 15 vendors selling items ranging from homemade hot sauce to paintings from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. along Third Street North. Vendor fees will be donated to the coalition, Munson said.
Musicians will take to the eatery’s main stage, including The Shane Tubbs Band at 11 a.m., followed by The Huge Ghost at 2:30 p.m. Then the Wherehouse Dance Company will perform a number at 6 p.m. before the stage shifts focus back to musicians with Star and Micey taking center stage at 7 p.m.
Munson said this year, starting Saturday evening, there will also be several games including stein holding and beer chugging competitions.
Festivities will wrap up Sunday with a lighter schedule including trivia and karaoke from noon-6 p.m., Munson said.
Wristbands, which will be needed for Friday and Saturday admission, will be sold at the entrance of the event for $5 each day for attendees over the age of 12. Admission on Sunday is free, Munson said.
Munson said organizers will also accept a receipt of a $5 or more purchase from a downtown business to cover the cost of admission.
The profit from the wristbands will go to supporting the musical artists performing at the event.
The event will also feature festival-specific food and drinks for sale, including at least 15 types of Oktoberfest beers mostly made by local breweries, Bavarian pretzels, bratwurst and kraut, Munson said.
“I hope that people turn out and that everybody gets what they want from it,” Munson said of the festivities. “When you’re organizing these types of things, you just hope that the whole community comes together (and) supports it.”
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