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Oompah with oomph
By JORGE SANCHEZ
© St. Petersburg Times, CRYSTAL RIVER -- Put on your lederhosen and roll out the barrel for this weekend's huge Oktoberfest bash in Crystal River. Oktoberfest activities will be held today through Sunday beneath the huge tent on the grounds of Plantation Inn at U.S. 19 and Fort Island Trail. The Oktoberfest celebrates a lot of things, but most of all, delicious German food. Among these will be bratwurst, cheddarwurst, potato cakes, liverwurst and sauerkraut, along with chilled German beers. A carnival midway will offer rides, and the German Oktoberfest band DeLeon will perform. Tonight and Saturday, the crowd, which can exceed 1,500, will also dance to the traditional polka music of the DeLeon Band. The band, dressed in traditional lederhosen costumes, perform classic Oktoberfest tunes such as the Who Stole the Kishka? polka, and also play contemporary country and pop songs to keep the mood lively. The popular chicken dance is another Oktoberfest tradition. A character dressed as a yellow chicken makes a sudden appearance on the dance floor, prompting a crowd of children to swarm the dance floor. Oktoberfest hours are 4 p.m. to midnight today, noon to midnight Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $1, and free for children younger than 12. The Oktoberfest is hosted by the Citrus Sertoma Club and is a fundraiser for the organization. Last year's event, sponsored by the Times, raised about $20,000 for Sertoma projects. Sertoma president Don VanOrden said funds raised go to many local projects. "We use the money to fund the speech and hearing center in Citrus Springs, we build wheelchair ramps for people and we used some of it to bring in the traveling Vietnam Wall exhibit last year," VanOrden said. "We'll help just about anybody that needs help." A companion event, an arts and crafts show, sponsored by the Crystal River Rotary, will be at the Crystal River Mall from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It will also include an RV and boat show. Admission is $1.
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