Buffalo-Niagara’s Largest Ump-Pa-Pa Party: The Buffalo Oktoberfest
Thousands expected for 9th Annual Celebration of German Heritage at Buffalo Central Terminal
BUFFALO, N.Y. –Buffalo Central Terminal will be transformed into an authentic Munich-style beer hall for the 9th annual Buffalo Oktoberfest. The event takes place on Saturday, September 24th from 4pm to 11pm inside the Terminal’s historic passenger concourse located at 495 Paderewski Drive @ Memorial Drive.
The Buffalo Oktoberfest is Western New York’s largest event of its kind drawing over 5,000 people to eat, drink, dance German heritage and sharing in the spirit of gemutlichkeit*. The original Oktoberfest was first held in Munich, Germany in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of King Ludwig. It has since evolved into a multi-day festival running from late September to early October. The Buffalo Oktoberfest models its event on traditions found inside actual Oktoberfest beer tents found in Munich.
“There is no better setting in Buffalo to transform into a giant Munich Oktoberfest biergarten than the Terminal,” explains Central Terminal Restoration Corporation Event Coordinator Ryan Willard. “Every attempt is being made to create an authentic Oktoberfest experience. From German food and beer to a spirited um pa, pa band and dancing, nothing is quite like the Buffalo Oktoberfest.”
The Buffalo Oktoberfest will feature the finest in German beers including Spaten Dark, Warsteiner Oktoberfest, Hofbrauhaus Lager and Franziskaner Wheat. A German kitchen will serve up delicacies that include various styles of sausage including bratwurst and mettwurst. Buffalo’s German show band, The Frankfurters and the 20-piece German American Musicians Orchestra will be leading the entertainment and raising a glass to the traditional toast of “Prost” throughout the night.
According to event organizers, the goals of Oktoberfest are to educate the community on German culture as well as raise money for Buffalo Central Terminal. Admission is $10 for adults with half-priced admission for those with a valid college ID. Party goers wearing the traditional German costumes or “tract” of the “dirndl" for women and "lederhosen” or “bundhosen” for men with receive free admission. All proceeds from the event benefit the stabilization and restoration of the Terminal.
The Central Terminal Restoration Corporation (CTRC) was founded in 1997 to oversee the stabilization and restoration of the New York Central Terminal in Buffalo, New York. The Terminal complex includes an 18-acre site that hosts an art deco office tower, passenger concourse and four-story baggage building. In 2011 the CTRC released its master plan that outlined various infrastructure needs and development opportunities. The mission of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation is to ensure that the original grandeur of the Terminal is available to current and future generations. (www.BuffaloCentralTerminal.org).
* Loosely translated Gemutlichkeit represents a good, cheerful feeling. The kind of feeling you have when spending an evening with friends at the village beer garden. These are unhurried and leisure moments to be cherished.
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