BUFFALO, N.Y. – According to our calendars it’s September, but for the thousands of people who will soon make their way to Buffalo Central Terminal, its Oktoberfest! The Munich-style Buffalo Oktoberfest is scheduled for Saturday, September 25th from 5:30pm to 11pm and takes place 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 4,000 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 on September 25th will pay homage to the 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest by basing its event on traditions found inside actual Oktoberfest beer tents found in Munich.
“There is no better building in Buffalo to transform into a giant Munich 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 German brewed Spaten Lager and Warsteiner Oktoberfest beers as well as locally brewed limited edition Oktoberfest styles from Pearl Street Brewing Company and Flying Bison Brewing. Peter Mertes wines, produced by a family-owned winery located on the Mosel River in Germany, will be featured. German delicacies will include various styles of sausage including bratwurst and mettwurst. Buffalo’s German show band, The Frankfurters, 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 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 1929 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. The mission of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation is to ensure that the original grandeur of the Terminal is available to current and to all future generations. Information about the building’s colorful history and special events is available at 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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