Oktoberfest Wrap Up

The weekend was warm, the beer was cold, the music was great, and the food was delicious — everything that was needed for a successful Oktoberfest. This year’s Oktoberfest was a record breaker for New Glarus — 173 barrels of beer were consumed just in the tent alone. Add several more barrels from each bar to that count and you have one big Oktoberfest!
Police Chief Burt Boldebuck said, ‘Wow what a success for the community! It was a great weekend, the weather was perfect, the village was packed with guests, the hotels were sold out, the shuttles were running, the food vendors were cooking, the beer was flowing, thousands of people were having fun and the officers were patrolling.
A little factoid about the Oktoberfest beer tent; The tent was open a total of 24 hours during the three-day event. During that period they served 173 Kegs of beer. Doing the math, in a standard Keg of beer, there are 124, 16oz servings, multiplied by 173 kegs of beer, equals 21,452 total servings of beer, divided by 24 hours equates to average of 893, servings of beer being sold per hour. Here is the amazing part; during the entire weekend, the police department reported ZERO problems. That is unbelievable, so many people, so much beer, so much fun and no problems. On another positive note, The New Glarus Police Department, Safe Ride Program, provided 93 area residents with safe rides home from the festival grounds. A special thanks to Dave Mosher and Associates along with Green Cab of Madison for Co-sponsoring our Safe Ride Program!”
The Oktoberfest Committee would like to say thank you to Deb and Dan Carey and the crew at New Glarus Brewing Company, our many volunteers and chamber staff. Thank you to the downtown business owners for your cooperation regarding street and parking closures. Thank you to the New Glarus Police Department for keeping us safe and for contacting Green Cab of Madison to provide safe rides home. Thank you to all who came to Oktoberfest and supported with your dollars, suggestions and encouragement. A big thank you to the clean-up crew, the New Glarus Fire Department and the New Glarus Football Team. Your strong backs were greatly appreciated! When you combine all of these wonderful and talented people, it is easy to see why Oktoberfest is such a huge success.
Thank you to our event sponsor, New Glarus Brewing Company. Thank you to our many other sponsors, Dave Mosher and Associates for sponsoring the free/safe cab rides home; Puempel’s Olde Tavern; UB&T; Bank of New Glarus; Fuzzy’s TV & Audio; Green Cab of Madison; Judd’s Auto Body; Brenda’s Blumenladen for the beautiful decorations; Chalet Landhaus Inn; New Glarus Hotel Restaurant; New Glarus Concrete; Midwest Dental; Sportsman’s Bar & Grill; New Glarus Bakery and LSM Chiropractic.
Where does the money go? Half of what we make goes to paying for the event. Tents, stage, porta potties, beer, advertising, donations, merchandise, bands/entertainment, electrical, security, insurance, transportation and permits all add up. What do we do with the profit? Continue marketing and prompting New Glarus as a destination. Last year New Glarus Chamber spent $70,000 on marketing and promotions. We spent another $10,000 on downtown beautification.
Oktoberfest Committee members are already thinking ahead for Oktoberfest 2016, and have set the date for the last weekend in September. That falls on September 23-25, 2016. We welcome your positive input and we can be reached at info@swisstown.com.