Labor Day Weekend Fun

Reported by Barry Burgelin

Oktoberfest in Pine Mountain moved from October to Labor Day weekend many years ago for the warmer weather and the larger crowds. Now in its 37th year, it has evolved into the ‘Fall Festival’ and will be held in Pine Mountain Village this year. The fun kicks off with a hometown parade on Saturday at 11 a.m. Come join in.

The entire event is open to the public, with free admission and free parking.

The gazebo in Pine Mountain Village Center will be full of live music and entertainment from mid-morning into the early evening, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 1-2.

Arts and crafts booths will open at 9 a.m. each day, lining the surrounding streets.

Children’s amusements—a giant slide and bounce house, pony rides and a four-man Euro jump—will be featured. They are always big hits.

There are cakewalks, raffle prizes, log-sawing and naildriving contests with much more, all set in a picturesque mountain community where fall is in the air.

Amazing food is available, ranging from succulent sausages, Mexican and Thai-Chinese cuisines to barbecued tri-tip. That and a beer and wine garden offer something for everyone.

Like the roads from I-5 to Pine Mountain, Oktoberfest (the brain-child of Rick Young and the late Fred Westlund) has had ups and downs. This year, we expect it to be a big “up.” Last year, the Fall Festival was a two-day Concert on the Greens event and a great time was had by all on the PMC driving range.

This year, the PMCPOA Board and the recreation committee have joined with the PMC Commercial Property Owners Association and the Pine Mountain Village Merchants Association to put on a bigger and better event.

Burgelin owns Pine Mountain Auto Center and is Chair of the Pine Mountain Commercial Property Owners Association.

This is part of the August 31, 2012 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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