German heritage will be celebrated by thousands again this year at Ompahfest.
The event will be on Sept. 22, starting at 11 a.m. at Plattduetsche Park Restaurant. Admission is $12 for adults and free for kids 12 and under. The festival, which is the largest celebration of German-American culture of the year at the restaurant, features traditional oompah music, German food, beer, dancing, demonstrations, raffles, games, vendors with imported goods and activities for children.
“It’s a big facility, big space that we do a lot of great heritage festivals and other festivals throughout the season,” Matt Buck, general manager of Plattduetsche, said about the restaurant. “But this one, our Ompahfest, is our biggest and it’s our kick-off to our Oktoberfest season.”
Buck said this festival always happens the day after the German-American Steuben Day Parade in Manhattan. He said a lot of the groups that perform in that parade come to Ompahfest the next day to perform. There are four stages that will be playing live music and a tent with seating under it for over a thousand people.
“The festival has been going on for over 50 years,” Buck said. “We are basically a German-American cultural center for German heritage. This property is actually owned by 25 different German clubs.”
The restaurant hosts different clubs, such as three traditional Schuhplattler dance groups, three traditional German dancing groups, a German brass band, German choirs, social clubs, German soccer club and more.
“Our mission here is really just to celebrate and teach our German culture and heritage to people and what better way to do that than through music, dancing, food and drinks,” Buck said.
Buck said people turn out in the thousands at this event. It’s a big festival that he said people mark off in their calendar every year. He said this is because it’s an authentic festival where you not only hear German-American bands, but also bands directly from Germany.
This event will kick off the annual Oktoberfest, which will take place on Oct. 4 through Oct. 13. There will be live bands and German dance groups performing each weekend during the festival. Traditional food like sauerbraten, wiener schnitzel, schweinshaxe, potato pancakes and giant pretzels will be sold at the event, along with beer.
For more information on Ompahfest and Oktoberfest, visit ParkRestaurant.com.
