Tickets go on sale August 1 for the inaugural Celina Oktoberfest celebration, scheduled from 11:00am to 10:00pm on Saturday, October 13, 2018, in the city’s historic downtown square at West Walnut and North Ohio Streets in Celina. This family friendly event will be presented rain or shine.
General admission tickets are $5. Children age 12 and under will be admitted free, as will any attendee who wears a traditional German lederhosen or dirndl costume to the festival. Tickets will be available for advanced purchase at www.celinaoktoberfest.com, and will also be sold at the gate on the day of the event. A limited number of specially priced tickets will also be on sale at www.Groupon.com.
Free parking and shuttles will be at Celina Elementary School, 550 S. Utah Drive, and at Brookshire’s Food & Pharmacy Celina, 675 Sunset Blvd. Paid parking ($20) will be adjacent to the square at West Pecan Street and North Louisiana Drive.
Alcoholic-drink tickets ($1 each) will be available the ticket booth during the festival (four tickets for a 12-ounce beer; six tickets for 16 ounces). Commemorative, half-liter beer steins ($10) can be purchased and used at Celina Oktoberfest or kept as a souvenir.
Sponsored by Landmark Bank, Celina Oktoberfest will feature live music from festive bands, a tempting assortment of traditional German foods and a beer garden boasting a bountiful selection of bubbling brews.
In a nod to Celina’s deeply rooted tradition of championship-winning football, the day’s biggest college-gridiron matchups will be presented at Celina Oktoberfest on a massive LED screen. Pro-football legends and members of the North Texas chapter of the NFL Alumni Association are also scheduled to appear, and radio personalities Mike and Cash Sirois of 1310 AM/96.7 FM The Ticket will broadcast live from noon to 2:00pm.
“This will be an Oktoberfest celebration unlike any other in Texas,” said Melissa Cromwell, president of the Greater Celina Chamber of Commerce which produces the event. Celina Oktoberfest will kick off with a cornhole tournament presented by the Celina Police Department, followed by the ceremonial tapping of the keg by Celina Mayor Sean Terry and a traditional toast.
Exciting events will follow throughout the day and evening, including a Dachshund Derby dog race, Chicken Dance circles and costume contests for children and adults. Youngsters can enjoy bounce houses, an obstacle course, a rock-climbing wall and a petting zoo in the free Kids’ Zone, sponsored by Martin Marietta, as well as cookie- and pumpkin-decorating activities.
Celina Oktoberfest will feature a plethora of entertaining performances, beginning with traveling tuba quartet Imperial Brass; followed by American-polka purists The Royal Klobasneks; Bavarian-inspired dance troupe Texanischer Schuhplattler Verein; Alps music aficionados by Auf Gehts Musik; and a high-energy set by headliners The Dogensteins, noted for transforming mainstream-music hits into foot-stomping polka tunes.
Authentic German delicacies and other culinary treats will be served up at Celina Oktoberfest by more than a dozen food-and-beverage purveyors including Bayer’s Kolonialwaren from Muenster, Texas. Among the numerous merchandise vendors will be a pop-up shop by The Kuckucks Nest, a Bavarian boutique and gift emporium from Fredericksburg, Texas.
“There will truly be something for everyone at Celina Oktoberfest. The square is going to be packed with entertainment and activities,” Cromwell said. “It will be an exciting, fun-filled start for this new, annual Celina tradition.”
For additional information and updates about Celina Oktoberfest, visit www.celinaoktoberfest.com. Follow @CelinaOktoberfest on Facebook, and @celina_oktoberfest on Instagram.
CELINA Life & Luxury Magazine 