It seems there is an endless array of Oktoberfest celebrations in our Valley these days. Some of these are large scale operations held at places as large as The Covelli Center. These events usually have large advertising budgets and sponsorships from the major breweries and distribution comapnies.

That trend was bucked a bit this past weekend when the owners of The One Stop Mart in Liberty held a more community oriented type of Oktoberfest celebration. They set up a few large tents adjacent to their store and offered a nice mix of beers and some quality food to the Liberty community. Attendance was quite robust for the event, especially considering it was more of a localized celebration with very little or no advertising outside the Liberty area.

Perhaps the best part of the event was that it raised money for two worthy causes:

Liberty High School Wrestling

Cancer Treatment and Awarenees

The One Stop Mart recently started carrying a diverse line of craft, micro and imported beers and many of these were available to taste on Saturday. It's nice to see a more communal style of Oktoberfest in our Valley. This one was a real nice contrast to some of the larger scale celebrations that dominate the airwaves and print space in our Valley's media.

It's interesting that this event much more closely mirror's the original Oktoberfest celebration held centuries ago. That event was a celebration of a royal wedding and the people of the region gathered in a kind of local fair where beer was only part of the equation. Since then, Germany's Oktoberfest has grown into a massive beer party attended by millions each year. It's nice to see The One Stop Mart taking Oktoberfest back to it's roots in this sense.

Here's to hoping The One Stop Mart's community Oktoberfest will be back next year and for many years to come.