Oktoberfest is a traditional German celebration which smells and tastes of warm pretzels. They blast traditional German music and dance waltzes, polkas, the German Schuhplattler, the Austrian Laendler, and, of course, the Chicken Dance, to create just the right mood for an Oktoberfest celebration. As well as various amusement rides and games like barrel racing, sausage-eating contests, trivia challenges and more to participate in.
“You can dress up in traditional German clothing with rides kind of like Worlds of Fun. I went there for the last two years,” freshman Johannes Karweg said.
Karweg is a transfer student from Munich, where Oktoberfest is highly participated in and is the core place to celebrate. In Munich, Oktoberfest is a festival where it welcomes a break from their daily routines and the opportunity to enjoy other people’s company in a community setting. It’s an annual festival that lasts two weeks and ends on the first Sunday in October.
“It’s a part of our German culture, and it’s fun to participate in and hang out with groups. It’s been a festival for well over 100 years,” senior Josephine Struba said.
Struba has been in Mrs. Orozco’s second-hour class since the first day of school. She’s a German foreign exchange student from Berlin who just transferred over the summer and is here until December.
“This is a big fall celebration in Germany, and it’s very similar to our fall fest with games, prizes, and food. They usually celebrate
almost all of September into October,” German teacher Sandra Orozco said.

Oktoberfest is celebrated at Liberty High School, with the German students being able to participate in fun games, while
also bringing food, like pretzels, spezi, or potato pancakes to celebrate the language in other
ways, as well as the culture.

“In here we’re going to do pretzel tosses, like foot or sack races; and sometimes I make potato pancakes,” Orozco said.
Sandra Orozco, has been teaching for five years and has been bringing Oktoberfest into the classroom ever since in hopes of spreading the word about Germany and the celebration of Oktoberfest. Any student who takes German gets to know more about the language they are learning and can link it to the culture.
Oktoberfest isn’t just celebrated in Germany, it’s also been brought to Kansas City and they have had their own with a festival downtown where anyone can join in at Crown Center, the ticket cost is fourteen dollars for anyone over twelve to get in and if you want premium reserved passes you have to pay 175 to 205 dollars.
Instead of a two-week event, it’s a two-day festival, but there will still be different food trucks, concessions, and tents set up. For entertainment, they have live music from bands like Doglava and magic tricks with Jack Reid.
This all starts on Friday, October 4th from 5:00 pm until 11:00 pm on October 5th when the gates open back up again at 11:00 am until the party ends at 11:00 pm.
Taking German is one of the many examples of being able to participate in a heritage. Even if you’re not German this is still a way for students to get involved with or without having you or a relative live in the country. This tradition is meant for everyone. After Oktoberfest is over, the class will shift to learning more about grammar and history.