Oktoberfest Officially Opens
September 20, 2008 by Kelly Phillips Erb
Filed under Drinks
Oktoberfest is officially open!
The world’s largest wedding part was first held in Munich, on October 12, 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
The festival begins each year in mid-September (this year, September 20) and runs 16 days. It’s held on an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), and often called d’ Wiesn for short.
For the last fifty years, the festival has been opened by a twelve gun salute and the tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer at 12:00 by the current Mayor of Munich with the cry “O’zapft is!” Roughly translated from Bavarian, that means “It’s tapped!”
New at the Oktoberfest this year? A new Bavarian law banning smoking in all enclosed spaces that are open to the public. This will mean a complete smoking ban inside the tents. It will be interesting to hear how that goes…
