Rosalind Lebel, OPI for Shilo and Region Service Club Oktoberfest 2024 shows off her “bratwurstness” at the second annual event on Oct. 19. (Photo: K-J Millar/Shilo Stag Media)

K-J Millar
Shilo Stag Media

More than 400 attendees and 65 volunteers raised their steins to a chorus of “Prost” at the second annual Oktoberfest hosted by the Shilo and Region Service Club on Oct. 19 at CFB Shilo.

The event was revived in 2023 after a more than 20-year hiatus and saw a revamped menu and entertainment lineup this year, Rosalind Lebel, a service club member and OPI for the event, said.

The night saw attendees enjoy a meal of bratwurst, schnitzel with hunter sauce, spatzele – a German egg noodle pasta with a dumpling-like texture and sauerkraut with an encore of German chocolate cake for dessert.

Three German beers were served, two of which were official Oktoberfest beers and sold out less than halfway through the evening. The difference between regular German beer and an Oktoberfest one is that the beers for the annual festival are specifically brewed and endorsed for the purpose of the Munich celebrations, said the evening’s master of ceremonies.

Entertainment and music were provided by the 24-member German Band From Winnipeg (yes, that is their name). Contestants battled it out in yodelling contests, shot Nerf pellets, and challenged each other for the champ title in Stein’s holding to see who could keep a full glass at arm’s length in the air the longest. The tickets draw awarded prizes of tickets for next year’s fest, meat packs, and travel vouchers, and the 50/50 draw saw a take-home winners purse of more than $1,200.

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