Bavarian traditions, German music, food and plenty of beer returned to El Cajon as the community celebrated its annual Oktoberfest — with organizers taking extra steps to keep attendees cool and hydrated amid unusually hot temperatures.
The longtime fall tradition, hosted by the German-American Societies of San Diego, brought together locals and visitors for German dancing, traditional food, music and community celebrations.
Organizers say the event has been a San Diego-area tradition for more than 50 years.
“We are the most authentic Oktoberfest. I mean they fly in bands from Germany,” said Jenny Currier, an Oktoberfest volunteer.
For some volunteers, the festival has become a tradition of its own.
Amy Nelson said what started as a random weekend night eventually turned into years of volunteering alongside a close friend.
“I met this beautiful person who's one of my best friends now in the whole world, and we've been volunteering now together for like seven years,” Nelson said.
Celebrating German heritage and community
Unlike many Oktoberfest celebrations that last a single weekend, El Cajon's event stretches across back-to-back weekends, giving organizers more time to showcase German culture and heritage.
Gitta Herbert, the “Burgermeister” of Oktoberfest El Cajon, said the festival is about more than food and beer.
“It just gives us an ability to showcase our German heritage here, German language, German dance, and really the feeling of Gemütlichkeit — that spirit and feeling you have of just being with a lot of like-minded people and just having a good time all together,” Herbert said.
Local vendors and hundreds of volunteers help bring the celebration to life each year.
Herbert said the unusually hot weather made this year's event challenging, but it also highlighted the dedication of the people who make the festival possible.
“It’s been a fantastic weekend. Of course it's been really, really hot, unseasonably hot in San Diego, but that makes the beer taste better. It makes the volunteers' smiles that much more genuine,” she said.
She added that the event would not be possible without the community and its volunteers.
“So if it wasn't for our volunteers and our community coming together, we couldn't do it for anyone,” Herbert said.
With temperatures climbing into the triple digits, organizers made cooling and hydration a priority during the second weekend of the festival.
Mike Anderson, chairman of the Oktoberfest committee, said attendance was slower than usual because of the heat, but organizers worked to make the grounds as comfortable as possible.
“The entire area is shaded. We brought in misters and fans, and then for the people that wanted to go inside the clubhouse is air conditioned as well,” Anderson said.
The additional precautions gave attendees a place to escape the heat while still enjoying the festival's music, food and other activities.
Despite the heat, longtime volunteers say the festival continues to represent something bigger than a celebration of German heritage.
Nelson said one of the most meaningful parts of Oktoberfest is seeing people from different backgrounds come together.
“All the different people come together and everybody has fun and it's not about being German, it's about being a part of the community,” Nelson said. “And that's really the biggest thing, I think — having a good time.”
For more than five decades, Oktoberfest in El Cajon has continued to blend German traditions with a strong sense of San Diego community — proving that even a heat wave can't keep people from celebrating together.
