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Community Corner

28th Annual Oktoberfest Celebrates Fall

The Rotary Clubs of Carlsbad put on their biggest annual event of the year to raise money for local charities.

Oompah-pah!  It's Oktoberfest time!

The smell of bratwurst grilling on the barbecue and the sounds of a live band playing traditional German polka music filled the air at Carlsbad's Holiday Park on Oct. 2 at the 28th annual Carlsbad Rotary Club Oktoberfest. This was just the right setting for a few thousand visitors to stop by and enjoy the food, music and dancing, plus have a chance to see their kids play games and paint pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.

Philip Urbina, a member of the Oktoberfest committee for the past 20 years, calls this the "premier family event of the year."  He said 100 percent of the proceeds from the ticket sales are given to local charities, most of it to the Boys and Girls Club of Carlsbad and the Women's Resource Center. Last year's Oktoberfest brought in over $46,000 dollars, and this year's total is close to that at just about $42,000.

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It's a "great community event with a great purpose," Urbina said.

To put on such a huge event takes time and manpower. In fact, this Oktoberfest required almost 300 volunteers throughout the day, doing all kinds of jobs. High school students set up tables, chairs and food booths and helped with prep work, and members of the two Carlsbad Rotary clubs spent hours preparing food and selling tickets to the beer booths, the apple strudel stand, and other events.

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To serve the traditional German dinner of bratwurst, German potato salad, and sauerkraut took the combined culinary skills of the volunteers. Rotary member Jeff Segall took on the title "Chef Jeff" as he donned the apron of authority as head bratwurst griller. He and his 15-year-old son, Robert, began getting the grills ready at 8 a.m. The cleanup began 12 hours later at 8 p.m. when the kitchen closed for the night.  They had enough bratwurst to serve meals for almost 2,000 people—close to 4,000 brats. 

Segall said his wife, Laura, is also a member of the Rotary, so she was drafted into helping him all day long in the park's outdoor kitchen. So for them, the Oktoberfest weekend was a family affair.

Working this many hours as a volunteer doesn't faze him.  He said Rotary is a "special and unique organization, and as members we have an opportunity to work with people from different walks of life. And we can put back something, and make this a better community."  He said that the Rotary also uses some of the money raised from the Oktoberfest to provide the "Rotary Youth Leadership Awards."  Last year almost 350 youth were able to attend a leadership camp for a weekend.

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