Octoberfest in September?

I happened to be on business in Cincinnati last week during the city's Octoberfest celebration, which is a very big deal there. Cincinnati has a strong German heritage, and they claim to have the second-largest Octoberfest (by attendees) in the whole wide world -- second only to the one in Munich.

As one might expect, beer is a significant part of the two-day festival. George Wendt, who played Norm, the beer-drinking bar patron on the sitcom Cheers, was this year's grand marshall. He looked like he's added some heft since his television acting days. Maybe it was all that beer and sitting around, episode after episode.

At any rate, there was beer everywhere.....


There were also a lot of food stands selling all sorts of German edibles......

And......

I was most intrigued by the chicken dance, which was one of the highlights of the entire weekend. While I didn't get to see it with my own eyes (work got in the way), J.G. sang the chicken dance song over the telephone for me. She gave it her best effort, anyway. They lined up Homer Simpson to lead this year's chicken dance, and everyone bought chicken hats, which were made of felt, from a guy walking around with a sign that said "Cash for Cluckers."

As for Octoberfest and why they hold it in September, well, there's a big long reason. If you're that interested, here's the explanation, which has something to do with a royal marriage back in the 1800s and how the celebration turned into an annual event, etc., etc. No mention of chicken dances, but I'm sure the beer was flowing.