Oktoberfest

What a fun Oktoberfest in the Village on a summery night recently. 

Many people worked hard.  See photos below

Thank you Michiana Park Committee for planning the first Fall Michiana social event: Lynn Altshul, Roberta Beranek,  Rusty Bruesch, Joann G Fisher and Nancy Thill.

Several committee members designed our posters. Rusty and Pam distributed flyers and posters, and made sure people knew about the Oktoberfest. Great job.

People came from Michiana Shores, Grand Beach, Long Beach and other communities to join our celebration. You couldn’t miss the pickleball people. What a fun, social group. That group just fit under the Village wooden map billboard for their group photo.

190 large beer glass mugs were distributed that night. 150 of them had Michiana decals designed and crafted by Lori Schutt, and transferred one by one to the mugs by Pam Schutt. Great teamwork Schutt Family.

The beer donated by Roberta’s aunt, Lyn McKeany, flowed all night into the official Michiana Beer Mugs. I heard both kegs were tapped dry. Thank you Nancy, Joe Ukleja, Nick and Alicia for tending the bar.

Lyn didn’t forget the wine connoisseurs of Michiana. There were cases of wines consumed by the glass. Several people were happy with their bottle of wine from the grab bag wine pull. Not sure who walked away with a $100 bottle of wine. Congratulations.

Thank you Jed & Joann Fisher, Pam Schutt and Nancy Thill for serving the delicious food from Jaworski Market, South Bend. Did we really run out of sweet and sour cabbage?

Did you get one of the cheese filled pretzels the Schutts donated? And those pumpkin cookies came from South Bend Chocolate Factory.

Thank you Glenn Ellison and the Deustch Meisters band. Not sure what the local deer and the Village cats thought about oompah pahs in their neck of the woods. Members of the Village enjoyed dancing and who will forget Nick and Alicia bobble head dance performance. How did they dance in those over inflated costumes? Thank you Roberta for getting the roll-out-the-barrel polka going. 

Children of all ages enjoyed the Dinges’ Farm pumpkins painting and stuffing a scarecrow crafts. 

Thank you Carl and Jurate Landwehr for donating a bocce set. Mrs. Roth won that raffle. More and more people are using the new Bocce court donated by Roberta.

Many hands made the set up and clean up go smoothly. Bill Schutt, Rusty Bruesch, Jed Fisher, and Josh Gondeck moved tables and chairs from and back to The American Legion on US 12. Rich and Lori Schutt, Pam Schutt, Nancy Thill, Joann Fisher, Roberta Beranek and her friends are just a few of the volunteers working behind the scene. We must not forget Anne Heywood, Cheryl Cook, Lisa Zirpolo and Karen Szyp.

Will we see you next year at the Michiana Octoberfest? I hope so. 

Joann G Fisher