This coming Saturday, October 14th, Bentwater’s annual Oktoberfest happens in the Park in the Meadows.  Sponsored by the Men of Bentwater (MOB), Bentwater Civic Association (BCA) and Bentwater Ladies Organization (BLO), it has become one of the most popular community events of the year.  But what exactly is Oktoberfest? Â
You’ve certainly heard about it at some point in your life since it’s been going on for a couple of centuries, but most of us have no idea what it’s really all about.  Well, as the name suggests, it’s a festival.  And it happens in October.  Duh.  But why?  Logically, given its history, one might imagine that it has to do with maybe the invention of beer or something like that.  That would be logical and, sure enough, these days there’s usually plenty of beer involved.  But that ain’t it at all.  As a matter of fact, the very first one happened due to the October 12th marriage between a dude named Ludwig and a damsel named Therese, and the celebration had nary a beer nor brat in sight.  Nope, all the attention was all focused around, of all things, a horse race.  If that seems a little excessive as a wedding gift to you, I guess it seemed perfectly normal in 1810.  Plus, keep in mind that Ludwig and Therese weren’t just any old couple. Â
He was a Prince who later became King of Bavaria and she a Princess who went on to become whatever a princess who marries a king becomes.  I still don’t understand how a horse race is relevant to a wedding, but that combination marked a reason for an annual celebration.  In October.  Oktoberfest.  And, in our world, it’s an afternoon of food and friends and bubbly beverages and, though scheduled from 3-7, if history is any indication, once brats are sizzling and the beer is flowing some folks may just linger for a bit.  After all, it’s free for members of the organizing groups and, if you aren’t yet a member, you can join on the spot and enjoy the festivities of the day.  Is this a great country or what?  With or without a horse race.
And later in the month there’ll be a different kind of race where you’ll see hundreds of munchkins in a semi-organized scramble to see who can gather the most Halloween candy the quickest.  There will be more details coming your way, but you can trust that it’s always a great time for kids.  Kids from 2 to 92.  And you might be surprised to see who enjoys it the most.  Â
Send social Bentwater news and interesting tidbits to Bruce@TheLakeConroeGroup.com
