An Oompah State of Mind

Five musicians in lederhosen and wool socks blasted their way through “La Bamba” Sunday afternoon as Margot Griffin of Thousand Oaks watched her children dance--well, bounce around a lot--to the music.

The band for Sunday’s Oktoberfest in Conejo Creek Park had been varying its selections, mixing barbecue standards like “Twist and Shout” with the polkas usually associated with German food and drink. Griffin, who is half German, took the ethnic blending in stride.

“Aside from the occasional ‘La Bamba,’ they did a really good job--very German,” she said, as the band, called The Chase, finished its set.

This being Southern California, any ethnic festival is bound to mix it up a bit, and the Oktoberfest sponsored Sunday by the Newbury Park Rotary Club was no exception.

One moment the crowd was jamming to that ubiquitous oompah classic “The Chicken Dance.” The next, revelers launched into “Macarena” with equal verve, revealing a striking similarity between the two dances.

No matter. So long as those attending enjoyed themselves and bought enough bratwurst to fund some of the club’s charitable efforts.

“Even if we didn’t make a nickel, the event itself is our gift to the community,” said Bob Dempster, who served as master of ceremonies.

For this, the club’s 10th annual Oktoberfest, Dempster expected to surpass last year’s attendance of 6,000 to 7,000 and raise between $15,000 and $20,000. The money helps fund scholarships for local high school students, and to support such organizations as Meals on Wheels, and Drug Abuse Resistance Education programs in area schools.

As a draw, organizers relied on the traditional Oktoberfest favorites--energetic music, food that gives cardiologists fits and lots of beer. A covered picnic area in the park was transformed into a makeshift beer hall, its long tables filled with people devouring strudel and quaffing Beck’s. The dance floor was never empty.

“I am amazed by how many people come here and know the dances,” Dempster said. “So I have to assume a lot of these people have at least a passing familiarity with German culture.”

Many in attendance could claim at least some German ancestry.

Ben Purvis of Somis and his son, Don, of Sunland came sporting Tyrolean hats--small, slightly pointed hats with narrow brims, usually dark green or brown, worn in the Tirol region of the Alps. Don’s, purchased several years ago in Germany, was decorated with a thick tuft of boar’s bristle and several small pins.

A line of sweat was forming under Don’s hat in the pounding Conejo Valley sunshine, but he said the hat wasn’t too hot.

“When you have something that fits the occasion, you wear it,” said his mother, Rita.

Like many at the festival, the Purvises were spending much of their time perusing the more than 75 crafts booths crammed with items that seemed worlds removed from Oktoberfest. It’s September, so of course there were plenty of Christmas decorations. It was a German cultural festival, so of course there were tie-dyed T-shirts and tights.

“Every year, they’ve added to it,” said Winnie Riedell of Newbury Park, who came for the music and sauerkraut but was partial to the stained glass and floral crafts. “The first time we went, they just had one row of crafts, and now, it’s just gotten huge.”

Others looked longingly at German luxury cars parked near the crafts booths or took their children to watch a puppet show in which a bearded wizard turned into a butterfly when children shouted the word “Oktoberfest.”

For much of the crowd, the event was a low-key way to get in touch with their distant roots. Bob and Margie Meyer of Thousand Oaks said they enjoyed their afternoon of polkas, noting that Bob has German heritage and Margie has Dutch.

“We’re looking for it somewhere inside of us,” Bob said.