Oktoberfest coming to downtown Lethbridge

Lethbridge – Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, pretzels and of course German beer.

The Southern Alberta Ethnic Association is bringing Oktoberfest to festival square in downtown Lethbridge on 6th street.

“It’s going to be a festive party . We are going to have live bands on the stage, we are going to have a lot of Bavarian banners and other swag,” says John Pogorzelski with the Southern Alberta Ethnic Association. “You will smell the bratwurst, and you are going to see a lot of beer!”

The 16-day beer festival, established in 1810, attracts millions of people to Germany ever year.

The local event is set for October 3rd and 4th.

Pogorzelski says the inspiration came after the success of July’s world cup festivities in festival Square.

“That one was so special and so unique that I think people are waiting for the next one,” says Ted Stilson, the Executive Director of the Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ)

In fact it was such a popular event, people were turned away because there was not enough seating space.

“It was unfortunate that we only had a liquor license for 100 people, but based on the success of that we are able to get a larger liquor license. We are going to have seating for 500 people. This year is a pilot project . We just want to see how it goes and next year we want to shut down the streets and have more of a carnival atmosphere to it,” explains Pogorzelski

The BRZ says the local World Cup celebrations proved a desire for multi-cultural events.

“You don’t understand how diverse it is. A lot of students our at the university and college . It was evident on that day,” adds Stilson