The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

An ocean, a continent and nine time zones away from the original Munich festival, the Sisters Oktoberfest has surfaced this year during September. The biggest fundraiser for the Knights of Columbus (K of C) in the Sisters area was a resounding success on Saturday afternoon - with nary a lederhosen in sight.

Oompapa polka sounds drifted through the neighborhood as Bob Shaffery, who served as a spokesman for the event, described the festivities.

Shaffery joked, "There will be dancing later. Unfortunately, the only dance we know is the chicken dance." However, no one had the courage to attempt it for the camera, and the dancing area remained empty.

Approximately 100 souls came to the event. Many were returnees from last year's festival; it seemed they all retained only one memory - how bitterly cold it had been at that outdoor venue. Even though organizers had decided to hold the event inside this year, the weather still remained a concern.

Planners were not willing to trust what fate might bring during October and moved the event to late September.

The German festival has also been moved forward to September for the same reason.

Shaffery said, "Although it is not in October, it is close and catches the spirit of the time of year."

And indeed, the flavor of the autumn German festival was in the air.

The event was held at The Pines Community Center because the Catholic Diocese of Baker has a policy which prohibits the serving of alcoholic beverages on church-owned property. The indoor venue was appreciated by all, and the outside seating area remained generally unused in spite of the pleasant evening weather and outside music.

"This event is a fundraiser, mainly for community needs," Shaffrey said.

He explained that although the funds will be used for K of C projects that deal with church needs, the proceeds will also be used for the greater needs of the community that will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This was the second year for the event, and Shaffery commented that last year was not only a learning experience but only a break-even fund-raiser.

Shaffery felt that combining what they gleaned from last year's event with this year's increased attendance due, in part, to holding the festival earlier will make this year's Oktoberfest profitable.

Three kinds of beer, two wines and several varieties of soda were served by Ron Thorn, one of the K of C members. The beer was both local and German, the wine was German and Australian.

Edith Leithauser, a Sisters icon, was in attendance. She was as enthusiastic as always saying, "This is a very sociable event. I really enjoyed it. It was so much better than last year where it was so cold."

She had sampled everything from Bratwurst to German potato salad. Petite as ever, she said "I wanted to try everything. I just don't have much room in here."

Marshall Goodwin prepared the deserts. His scratch baked carrot cake and German chocolate cake were hits with the sweet-toothed crowd. Goodwin, whose day job is with Homeland Security in Bend, has a hobby of baking and has regularly contributed his pies and cakes for various events. Although he does less now since he doesn't have a commercial kitchen, he is still capable of producing an impressive display of baking artistry. The quality of his baked goods leaves one to wonder why there isn't another bakery in Sisters.

As the event was beginning to draw to a close, a few drifted in from the Sisters Art Stroll, having completed the circuit, ready for more substantial food and hopes, perhaps, of seeing the chicken dance.