Do you find yourself stalking friends’ study abroad albums instead of studying for exams or writing your papers? If so, I have no doubt you’ve been bombarded with images of braids, booze, and a rather pink faced, beer bellied gentleman chugging one very large beer on a picnic table.
The joys of Oktoberfest.
Are you making yourself increasingly jealous by studying the multitude of pictures of your friends making the rounds in possibly the largest beer tent you ever seen? If you’ve been wondering what you’d look like in a sick pair of lederhosen or dirndl, and if you’ve been craving a brezel (and we’re not talking about the kind at the football stadium although those are other worldly delicious), you now can participate in the joys of these activities without paying a gazillion and seven dollars for a short notice international flight to Munich. How? You may ask. Well look no further than North Quad because this year Lewis, Breen-Phillips, and the German Club hosted a new signature event this year – their own personal Oktoberfest!
FREE BEER ON CAMPUS?! No, don’t get too excited. This Oktoberfest is not of the alcoholic variety, but it’s just as much fun with a fabulous fall theme. The idea came to Breen-Phillips VP Jennifer Kalan, but she needed help with funding which led to a partnership with Lewis Hall, and the inclusion of the German Club through Lewis Hall VP Elizabeth Holzenthal’s involvement. The Junior Class Council also played integral part of marketing the event around campus.
Thanks to all these people and organizations, you could snack on delicious German-made pretzels by Notre Dame’s very own German Club, create the caramel apple of your dreams with topping choices like M&M’s, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and sprinkles, and wash down the food coma with root beer or hot apple cider. Then if you’re worried about calorie intake there’s always German music to dance to or corn hole to be played.
After waiting through a week of anticipation, I headed over to North Quad with my friends to check out Notre Dame’s version of Oktoberfest. We had a great time snacking on pretzels and challenging each other as to who could make the most delicious caramel apple. Spoiler Alert: every topping is good, so naturally all of them together on one slice of apple is not only sinfully delicious, but true perfection. It was a cool atmosphere and definitely a fun way to spend a Football Friday afternoon.
But unlike the real Oktoberfest all this debauchery was not solely in name of a good time. Breen-Phillips and Lewis had a competition leading up to the event as to who could collect more food for the Food Bank of Northern Indiana. In order to snag a delicious pretzel you had to make a donation to the charity or donate some food as well. All this will go towards stocking the Food Bank of Northern Indiana for the holiday season when it gets increasingly busy. The initial count has dollar donations at over $200, the weight of the food donations have yet to be calculated.
If after this you’re reeling about your missed opportunity for indulging in all this Oktoberfest goodness, fear not, you’ll just have to stomach the twelve-month wait until next year. It might just be worth the wait, however, as Lewis Hall VP Elizabeth Holzenthal assures that it will be back and “bigger and better than ever.”