Raise a toast to Big Bear Lake’s Oktoberfest

If you can carry 15 steins of beer at one time, or if you excel at log sawing, sausage eating, yodeling or limbo dancing, Big Bear Lake has a festival just for you: its annual Oktoberfest, which begins Sept. 19 and runs each weekend through Oct. 31.

The event, held at the Big Bear Lake Convention Center is chock-full of odd entertainment. You can dance and cluck to the Chicken Dance or enjoy professional cloggers, polka dancers and musicians.

But if you aim to become a star yourself, there are plenty of opportunities for participants with unusual talents.

“Who’s going to become the next Oktoberfest idol?” asked Monica Marini, the event’s managing director. “TV shows like ‘American Idol’ give people a chance to become stars. We want to extend that opportunity at Oktoberfest.”

Among the whimsical contests is Stein Carrying, in which contestants must pick up steins full of liquid and transport them 30 feet. The preliminary round starts with 13 steins and increases with each round. Or you can try your skill at log sawing (pictured), a two-person team sport, or the limbo, which is done to polka music.

When: Oktoberfest is open from noon to midnight Saturdays and noon to 5:30 Sundays.

Cost: Ticket prices for Saturdays are $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and $6 for children 3 to 12; on Sundays, tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for seniors. Children 12 and under get in free on Sundays.

Contact: Oktoberfest, (800) 4-BIG-BEAR (424-4232).

— Rosemary McClure, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Photo : A log-sawing contest at Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest.  Credit: Courtesy of Richard Millener / Big Bear Lake Resort Assn.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, September 5, 2009 at 1:51 pm by Rosemary McClure and is filed under California, Fall, Family & Kids, Festival, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.