LAKEPORT — Hundreds of reveling residents descended on Main Street in Historic Downtown Lakeport Saturday for Oktoberfest presented by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, a traditional autumn event featuring ample raffles and prizes and family fun.
From 1st Street to 4th Street, community members were able to partake of the many arts and crafts vendors, sampled tasty offerings from the food court between 2nd and 3rd Streets , enjoyed musical entertainment and events like the popular Dachshund Derby, and of course, drank beer and wine throughout the day.
The O’Meara Bros. Brewing Company DBI Beverage and Eagle Distributing were featured in the Beer Garden.
German beer choices are wide and varied this year in the Beer Tasting Garden on 3rd Street The food court featured selections of German foods and a plethora of other treats for foodies. Gourmet sausages and smoked Bratwurst proved a popular choice if the long lines were sufficient evidence.
A strolling accordion player was a new addition this year while Jimi Z’s Band played for the street dance in the afternoon and early evening to the delight of the crowd. As they have done in previous years, the band teamed up with the Golden Gate Meat company and donated $1,000 for a cash giveaway for the annual raffle. The jackpot was split into a 1st prize of $500 and second and thrid prizes of $250.
Other musical entertainers included the Ranch House Oakies (with a Polka bent) the “Divas.”
The Clearlake Club sponsored not one, but two Corn Hole tournaments throughout the day. Also on the activity list were a pretzel eating contest, a doggy all breed costume contest, a stein holding contest and polka lessons and contest by Larry and Zoe Richardson and a scene from the Lake County Theatre Company’s upcoming production of Oklahoma which opens Oct. 26 and runs through Nov. 11 at the Soper Reese Theatre.
Cash prizes were given for Oktoberfest costumes in multiple categories for adults and children.
Rainbow Ag sponsored the Dachshund Derby and supplied ‘doggy prizes’ for the winners, according to the Chamber of Commerce. The event proved so popular in the afternoon that another round was held later in the day.
