By Csaba Petre
With summer officially over, OB is beginning preparations for its busy holiday season. First up is Oktoberfest.
First put on by Hoy Hoy Boys in Ocean Beach in 2002, Oktoberfest is returning for the 23rd year this Friday to Sunday.
Friday, October 10th
Headlining bands on Friday, October 10th on the main stage all hail from San Diego and include :
- Electric Waste Band, a Grateful Dead cover band known for playing at Winston’s every Monday, starting off the music at 4:20 PM, followed by
- Paging the 90s,
- Band of Gringos (a power trio originating in OB), and
- Spacehall Sound Machine.
Saturday, October 11th
On Saturday, October 11th, main stage artists include:
- Three Legged Dog,
- Tsunami Sound Waves,
- Fresh Veggies,
- BETAMAXX,
- EMO KIDS,
- WAX, and
- BoomBox.
The Electronic Stage will have a selection of electronic artists both Friday and Saturday. The bands were selected to represent a mix of local OB artists as well as nationally performing groups, and booked by OB Oktoberfest’s booking partner who also books for Winston’s OB.
Short History
The first Oktoberfest was held in Dusty Rhodes Park. It then moved to Del Mar, and then back to OB; in later years, it moved to the beach parking lot next to the pier. Starting last year, the paid event has expanded its footprint to encompass significantly more of the prime beach area of OB between the pier and the main lifeguard tower for the span of its two days. The space is permitted by the city via its Special Events and Filming permit process to the OB Mainstreet Association, in collaboration with Hoy Hoy Boys, for use for this event. The expanded footprint was specially approved by the SDPD and SDFD at OBMA’s request.
According to the organizers, the event raises $50,000 per year for the community, and has raised $800,000 over the course of the 20+ years it has been operating. Heather Hudson, Director of Partnerships, OB Oktoberfest, told us that the proceeds primarily benefit the OB Mainstreet Association and the Peninsula Alliance, and their cooperatively run Friends of OB program. Friends of OB (https://friendsofob.org/) strives to clean and beautify public areas as well as provide a security team in OB.
An additional beneficiary, not OB-specific, is the Warrior Foundation Freedom Station, a San Diego-based organization supporting rehabilitation of military veterans. Scott Slaga, founder of Oktoberfest and co-owner of Winston’s OB, is a longtime supporter of this organization. There are opportunities to donate to the Warrior Foundation at the event itself, such as during the Warrior Stein competition. Heather also mentioned that Oktoberfest is a good opportunity to promote “OB itself to a wider audience”, and that local businesses profit from the increased out-of-county and out-of-state visitation during the event.
According to Heather, putting on Oktoberfest involved about half a year of planning, led by a core team of four in coordination with the Hoy Hoy Boys production company. Corporate partners help fund the event: the main stage is supported by Jaegermeister, who sponsors Oktoberfest events around the country, while the electronica stage is sponsored by Buzz Cannabis, a local partner.
More information and tickets are here.
Just wanted to add that there will also be games and stage contests being held both days, and opportunities for fans and participants to give to the supported organizations directly at the event. Contests including a pretzel toss, brat eating contest, stein holding competitions, and Mr. and Ms. Oktoberfest.
Thanks for doing this.