Octoberfest at Anderson Center for the Arts

Oktoberfest isn’t just for Germans anymore. Annually, millions of non-Germans in America flock to local versions of this Bavarian festival. Historically, it began on October 12, 1810 in celebration of this marriage of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. Future King Ludwig organized a horse race and invited all the people of Munich. The royal party drew about 40,000 guests—a major rager, by ordinary standards, but only a small fraction of the millions of people at Oktoberfest world-wide since. A good time, and copious amounts of beer, were apparently had by all that first year. It was decided that the horse race would be held again in 1811, this time in conjunction with the state agricultural show. Today, the horse races have all but disappeared but "the beer" remains a major constant including for the Anderson Center for the Arts’ Oktoberfest.