Oktoberfest says ‘prost’ to authenticity
The modern incarnation of Oktoberfest in Munich may be an internationally recognized celebration of all things Bavarian, but most Americans simply distill the annual event here into three key elements: beer, brats and bands.
In Southern California, no fewer than five notable Oktoberfests take place, with smaller ones from Carlsbad to Santa Barbara. But it’s not all about copious Kulmbacher consumption, at least in Anaheim.
“I would say we are the most authentic Oktoberfest in Southern California,” said Paul Gunnemann, president of Phoenix Club, which has been putting on the fest since 1962.
“Amazingly enough, anybody in the United States knows what Oktoberfest is all about,” the Bremen-born Gunnemann said last Saturday in the middle of a festive crowd, some of whom were dressed in lederhosen. “They don’t have to be German. American people seem to really enjoy Oktoberfest, and not just for the beer, but for the camaraderie and meeting people.”
Perhaps the combination of oom-pah-pah music and German brews such as Bitburger, Kostritzer black, Konig Pilsener or Franziskaner Weisse under a white tent in the shadow of a Mitsubishi dealership helped to break down Southlanders’ inhibitions.
Los Alamitos resident Kurt Hauptmann, whose father is Austrian, brought a date -- and his lederhosen to the event at the Phoenix Club’s year-round cultural center. “Normally I dress in my civilian clothes,” he insisted.
“My parents started coming here before I was even born,” added Hauptmann, 26, who is studying to teach high school German. “Actually I think they used to come here on date nights.”
The Phoenix Club’s activities during Oktoberfest probably haven’t changed that much since the early 1960s, and that’s fine with those who frequent the event, which is more intimate than the larger, better known Oktoberfest at Alpine Village in Torrance. Though Alpine Village has a family day on Sundays, Friday and Saturday nights are 21-plus, as opposed to the Phoenix Club’s more family-friendly vibe.
“We’ve been to the Oktoberfest in Munich, and this is just as good,” said Erin Hurray, 42, a self-professed stay-at-home mom from Newport Beach who brought her four children to the club for the first time. “It’s not often you find a place where you can bring the kids out at night that’s fun for both the adults and the kids.”
For many, Oktoberfest is all about the food. It’s not just bratwurst and pretzels at the Phoenix Club -- there’s weisswurst, Strassburger wurstsalat, Bavarian-style potato salad and, this Sunday, an entire ox roasted on a spit.
“For me personally this is the best Oktoberfest,” said Nuremburg native Silvia Schuessler, who has lived in California for 13 years. “The only thing that is missing here is steckerlfisch,” a traditional charcoal-grilled fish on a stick.
For Gunnemann, the mission is not so much to please German nationals during Oktoberfest, but rather, to strike the right balance between those who miss Deutschland and curious O.C. residents.
“We are constantly working to preserve the heritage of Germany,” said Gunnemann, whose club also celebrates a variety of other traditional festivals such as Bockbierfest, Maifest and Schutzenfest. If that means Angelenos piling up plastic cups into pyramids atop long tables under a beer tent every October, the Phoenix Club president will keep saying “Prost” -- German for “cheers” -- until November.
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Phoenix Club, 1340 S. Sanderson Ave., Anaheim. Oktoberfest: 6 p.m.-midnight Fri.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun. through Oct. 26. Free, Fri.; $10, Sat.-Sun. (714) 563-4166.
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