It wasn’t 65 degrees and sunny like the first Family Games Night back in July. And certainly not in the high 70s like the second one in September. But chilly autumn breezes and overcast skies didn’t deter hundreds of adults and children who braved the cold last Saturday evening to enjoy German music, German food and giant games set up on West Main Street.
Saturday’s event was the last of three Family Games Night/Beer Gardens sponsored by the Webster Business Improvement District (BID) this summer and fall. This most recent block party featured an Oktoberfest theme, complete with three full hours of rousing entertainment from premier Oktoberfest band The Krazy Firemen, and plenty of bratwurst and knackwurst on the grills.
And beer, of course.
The event almost didn’t happen. It had originally been scheduled for Saturday Oct. 16, but was rained out. The darkening skies didn’t look a whole lot more promising this time around, but aside from a few sprinkles early on, the weather held.
Still, promptly at 5 p.m., when the Krazy Firemen sounded their siren and launched into their first traditional Oompah tune, they played to a completely empty street. Organizers began to fear that people didn’t realize the event had been rescheduled.
But they needn’t have worried. By 5:30, West Main St. had begun to fill up with festival-goers. Children of all ages were playing with the games and chalking in the street. Denise Baller from Dancing With Denise had a whole knot of kids up and dancing to the band. Many older folks were just content to get a brat, sit at a table and enjoy the authentic German music. By the end of the evening, several hundred people had come into town to enjoy the Oktoberfest with family and friends.
The chilly weather might have kept some people home, of course. But Clayton LaClair, who was there with his young family, spoke for many when he said, ”I don’t care about the cold. It’s German food and beer!”
“And a kids’ night,” added his wife Mindy.
BID chair Elena Bernardi said, “I’m excited to bring all this stuff to Main Street for families to come out and just have fun.” She added that given the success of the Game Nights, the BID will definitely plan to do them again next year — but maybe schedule the last one a little earlier in the season.
Check out some more photoss here:
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