Students experience German culture at Oktoberfest

Kloe Witt, Staff Writer

two elderly people posing in front of camera
A couple enjoys the scene at the Oktoberfest celebrated Oct. 7-8, Oct. 14-15, and Oct. 21-22, 2022. Oktoberfest celebrates German culture. Kloe Witt/The Maroon (Kloe Witt)

Deutsches Haus of New Orleans once again rolled out the kegs this October during their annual Oktoberfest celebration.
The event, meant to celebrate German culture around the city took place the second, third and fourth Fridays and Saturdays of October and included booths with traditional German dishes, live music from several artists embracing German culture, and plenty of beer. Since it was a drinking festival, there were also 28 different brands of beer for event-goers to enjoy. If beer wasn’t of interest for some, the festival also sold wine and schnapps.
Competitions were also held at the festival, such as one in which contestants competed to be the longest to hold a mug of beer straight in front of them without stopping.
Many of the festival-goers dressed in costumes to get in the spirit and potentially compete in the costume contests.
Instrumental performance freshman, Melissa Monjaras, attended the last weekend of the festival. She said it was a wonderful experience that was worth the price of a $10 entry.
“It was interesting seeing the unique way that this culture celebrates,” Monjaras said.
Monjaras added that she enjoyed seeing how welcoming everyone was, including festival employees and the festival-goers themselves.
“People would walk up and do the chicken dance with me. It definitely wasn’t what I expected, but it was really fun,” she said.
Monjaras said she felt skeptical of the festival when she was first asked to attend, though she said she almost instantly felt the “good vibes” while there. Now, she said she hopes to attend the festival in the years to come.
“I look forward to coming back next year,” Monjaras said.