In Munich in Bavaria, Germany, Oktoberfest brings to mind masses of people and music, accompanied by beer and good food. At Chisholm Trail High School there were refreshments and food – minus the alcohol.
The World Languages Club hosted the CTHS Oktoberfest on Thursday, Oct. 18 from 5-7 p.m. in the cafeteria.
What is Oktoberfest?
In 1810 German Prince Ludwig decided to celebrate with all of Bavaria his marriage to Princess Therese of Saxony. The festival was held in front of the fields and began with a parade of horses.
From then on it became customary to hold the event every year, even after the Bavarian royalty was gone. Over time, visitors from around the world started coming to the festival.
The actual festival in Germany is 16 days long but it only lasted two hours in the school’s cafeteria.
All foreign language teachers sold tickets to the event. Club members prepared for the event by working on committees that specialized in areas such as food and decorations.
“I got to do many new things . . . cooking that I hadn’t done before,” Freshman Hannah Onder said about working on the Food Committee.
Principal Mike Schwei and David Stubbs, and Sharon Nobis, assistant principals, attended the event. Superintendent Jim Chadwell, Deputy Superintendent Lowell Strike, as well as Irene Chase and Simon Kohl of the Fort Worth Sister Cities program attended, also.
The festival menu included traditional German cuisine, Kartoffelsalat (potato salad), Bratwurst (asausage usually made of pork, veal, or beef) and Sauerkraut, which is fermented cabbage.
It began with hosts setting up and giving out food, followed by speeches from Mr. Franks, representatives from Fort Worth Sister Cities, and the Fort Worth German American Club. Members of the club offered polka lessons, as well. A deejay played music and students Taylor Torres and Beth Carter performed live.
Sophomore Sean Diaz said he enjoyed the dancing because it gave students a chance to get up and move. He said he liked the Bratwurst, but that much of the food had run out by the time he got there. 
“It’s the biggest thing the World Languages [Club] has done so far,” CTHS German teacher and club sponsor Kris Franks said. The club’s goal was to have over a 100 students and parents attend and an estimated 150 showed up for the event.
When asked if he would like to see the World Languages Club do more events like Oktoberfest, Diaz said “Yeah, just a lot more food next time.”