Octoberfest and OkTUPPERfest both slated this weekend

by Rich Rosentreter

October is associated with fall foliage and Halloween – it is also the time of festivals, as in Octoberfest. Two such events are on tap this weekend in Tupper Lake, first Oktupperfest at the Tupper Lake Golf Course on Saturday and then Octoberfest on Sunday at the Raquette River Brewery. Each event will include beer, food and music and both are returning after being canceled last year due to the pandemic.

The Octoberfest at the brewery will mark a special occasion as well – two new German-style beers will be released on that day. In addition, German fare will be available as special menu items on the food trucks.

OkTUPPERfest

The annual Oktupperfest will take place from noon to 6 p.m. and although the location has changed, much of the usual activities will remain.

Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce events coordinator Christine Day said this is the first Oktupperfest she has planned and anticipates the popular event will attract its usual large gathering.

“I’m very excited, it’s the first time we’re having it up at the golf course. We wish we could have it at Big Tupper, but this is the next best thing,” she said. “We’re pretty much following the same protocol that we’ve done in previous years, we just changed the location.”

Music will be performed by two bands, with Bittersweet playing from noon to 3 p.m. and Slingshot performing from 3 to 6 p.m. There will also be several food vendors adjacent to the Lookout Restaurant at the country club, which will also be open.

The event will be family-oriented and there will be plenty of children’s activities, according to Christine.

“We’re going to do ‘Putt for a Pint’ for the adults and have a children’s green set up next to the pro shop, just so the kids can get their hands on a club and try the sport of golf,” she said, adding that there will be a bounce house, inflatable obstacle course, pumpkin painting and a tie-dye T-shirt area and a face painter – all for the kids.

The Rod & Gun Club will also have an archery range set up and High Peaks Cyclery of Lake Placid will have fat tire bicycles on-hand for people to try out on the road and the cart path along the golf course, Ms. Day said. Bikes will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Nine holes on the golf course will be available for golf with the other nine dedicated for riding along the path.

In addition to the beer station, there will be three food vendors, Tyler’s Pizzeria, the Dos Locos Gringos food truck and the Lion’s Club Cook Shack, according to Christine.

“Everybody’s feeling excited, we haven’t had it for a couple of years, so I’m sure we’ll have a great turnout. Hopefully it will boost tourism,” she said, and mentioned the Octoberfest being held by Raquette River Brewing. “Hopefully people come up and make a weekend out of it.”

Admission is a donation of $5 per person or $10 per family.

“We’re going to have beautiful scenery, great activities and beer and food. There’s something for everyone,” she added.

Octoberfest

On Sunday, there will be an Octoberfest at Raquette River Brewing from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with one of the highlights being the new releases of two German-style beers. Pumpkin Ale, which is not new, will also be available since it is in season. Admission is free.

Brewery co-owners Mark Jessie and Joe Hockey said the event is geared to be family-oriented. For the kids, there will be a hula-hoop acrobat, a clown doing balloon art and a pumpkin painting contest.

Besides beer, there will be music with performances by three bands: Night School, Hammerlock and Movin’ On.

“It’s all local bands, classic rock and the last band plays country music,” Mr. Hockey said.

The brewery has held Octoberfests before – it’s the third one - and Mark Jessie said it will be similar to past events, but this year the food trucks are going to have special food for the event as German fare will be available.

“People really like when the food trucks do something different, so it’s a big deal that they’ll have German food,” he said. “It’ll add some authenticity to it (Octoberfest).

Mr. Jessie said attendees can expect to have “a good time,” and spirits are usually high during these events.

“We did this before and it was packed, it was probably one of our biggest days ever,” he said. “The atmosphere just changes for some reason when you call it an Octoberfest, everybody is in such a good mood. People feel like this might be the last hoorah for the year and everybody comes out – it’s just a great time, people all over and there’s continuous music.”

As far as the two beers, Mr. Hockey said one will be a marzen, which is like a dark lager and the other being a “hoppy kolsch.”

“These are new beers and strictly for Octoberfest,” Mr. Hockey said. “They’ll be available in cans.”

“We’ve got some fancy artwork on the cans too,” Mr. Jessie said, adding that attendees will be able to purchase drink chips at the door and use to get the brew of their choice. “It’ll speed things up and you won’t have to deal with cash at the bar.”

As far as expecting a large crowd and concerns over COVID, Mark said, “Right now there are no restrictions, if something comes up, we’ll abide by it.”

“We monitor COVID pretty close, especially with an event like this,” Joe noted. “It’s an open-air event because we have plenty of outdoor seating, all the windows, even in the beer halls, everything is wide open.”

“There’s plenty of room for people,” Jessie said. “There’ll be plenty of fires going in the fire pits.”

“I’m very excited to see a crowd,” Mr. Hockey said, adding that Sunday’s event is more than just a beer-drinking event. “Octoberfest is typically a community event in Germany and that’s what we’re shooting for here – and our community is the North Country. Every community in Germany has a local brewery and they all do a version of Octoberfest, so this is ours.”

“I’m always excited for an event like this,” said Mark. “It’s always fun to have music and the local bands – we haven’t had a ton of that because of COVID. We did a little this summer but not like we used to do. It’s also fun to see that the bands love to play here – and to have back-to-back music is always exciting.”