Sisters celebrates Oktoberfest

There was plenty of polka-dancing and potato salad to be had on Sunday for the annual Oktoberfest party held at St. Edward the Martyr Catholic Church. Guests ready for a taste of old Munich enjoyed an authentic Rhineland lunch of smoked German sausages, potato salad and homemade sauerkraut, washed down with crisp amber ale in honor of the yearly event.

And what's an Oktoberfest without a lively lot of accordions, clarinets and lederhosen, served up by the band Polka Express with a hand-clapping set of classic polkas, waltzes and glass-clanking sing-alongs.

"This is our eighth year, and it's always a great time," said church member and organizer John Ries, sporting an appropriate alpine hat. "The function is put on by the Knights of Columbus Round Table and our informal group who are part of the Bend council. It's a fundraiser for our charitable work in the community and just a fun, relaxed thing for our parish to put on. All the raffle prizes were donated by parishioners. It's been a good crowd and looks like people are still coming in. Even my sister from Minnesota came."

The origins of Oktoberfest began on October 12, 1810 with the marriage of the Bavarian King Max Joseph to his bride Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Five days after the wedding, a huge festival was held at the gates leading to Munich with horse races, a harvest fair and beer.

Sisters' version of the famous celebration was smaller, yet no less spirited, with colorful fall decorations, German wall-hangings and long benches draped in festive orange and brown tablecloths, transforming the church gathering room into a cozy Bavarian brew hall.

The traditional food was cooked and served by church members Carol Neary, Jeanne Wall, Mary Richards and Yoshi Furuya. Jan Ries made the crowd-pleasing German potato salad.

"I made it but I don't eat it," Ries said, manning the raffle-ticket booth. "It's from an old Minnesota family recipe. I cooked 60 pounds of potatoes and a whole tub of bacon. There's no mayonnaise in it, so a lot of people really love it."

With a bright smile, volunteer Mary Richards spooned out more potato salad and set up a hot dog bun for the line of hungry Oktoberfest fans.

"This is the best food ever," she said. "Jan brought everything for the potato salad and all we had to do was chop them up. The German chocolate cake was made by a friend of our church in Eugene. This is such a wonderful day and we're happy to serve this German food and let everybody have a taste. We're just a small parish, and these types of events are important to help raise money for our services. It's not a huge crowd, but it's a good

crowd."