Ron and Bernice Tramp of Crofton polka dance in front of the crowd at Oktoberfest held in Norfolk on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. Ron Tramp started polka dancing in 1988 and has been coming to events like Oktoberfest ever since. “I met my wife at a singles dance in Norfolk, and we’ve been married 21 years,” Tramp said. He spent the evening teaching spectators how to polka accompanied by music from the Omaha band, Sheelytown. Photo by Kellyn Jewett/NNS.
Norfolk Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the 10th annual Oktoberfest Sept. 24-25. The event featured various activities such as live polka music, German beer, bounce houses and more.
The festival highlights Norfolk’s German heritage and originated over 200 years ago as a celebration for the wedding of Prince Ludwig I, the prince of Bavaria. Munich, Germany hosts the annual celebration and includes Oktoberfest beer, German food, and traditional Bavarian outfits.
Guests watch a musical performance during Norfolk’s Oktoberfest on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. The event, put on by Norfolk Area Chamber of Commerce, took place over two days and invited people to come celebrate Norfolk’s German heritage. The event featured activities such as live music, German food, beer, and family entertainment. Photo by Kellyn Jewett/NNS
Ron and Bernice Tramp of Crofton polka dance in front of the crowd at Oktoberfest held in Norfolk on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. Ron Tramp started polka dancing in 1988 and has been coming to events like Oktoberfest ever since. “I met my wife at a singles dance in Norfolk, and we’ve been married 21 years,” Tramp said. He spent the evening teaching spectators how to polka accompanied by music from the Omaha band, Sheelytown. Photo by Kellyn Jewett/NNS
Jim Rutten, owner of Jim’s Fine Wine & More, of Norfolk, points to his wine collection at Oktoberfest on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. When Rutten first started researching wine he spent time at wineries in California. He is fascinated by the beverage because of the way it changes from year to year. “You might be drinking this now but in six, eight months you’re going to want to try something different,” Rutten said. Among his collection of wine were two German wines, a way of celebrating the festival’s German roots. Photo by Kellyn Jewett/NNS
From left to right, Patrick Nowak, John Szalewski, Joe Waszak, Ben DeGagne, members of Sheelytown, a polka band from Omaha play their set for the crowd at Norfolk’s Oktoberfest on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. The band, founded in 2012, performed a two hour set at the event. Photo by Kellyn Jewett/NNS
Aria Finn, 2, plays in the bounce houses at Oktoberfest in Norfolk on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. While Oktoberfest itself is a beer festival, Norfolk invited people of all ages to participate in family fun activities. Among these was a row of bounce houses, an inflatable slide, and a blow up obstacle course. Photo by Kellyn Jewett/NNS
Oktoberfest guests order beer in Norfolk on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. Oktoberfest, an event held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany is the world’s largest beer festival. Communities like Norfolk hold similar festivals to celebrate their German heritage. The event had multiple beers on tap, half of them German beers, as well as various domestic beers. Photo by Kellyn Jewett/NNS
Clark Froehlich (left) and Pastor Lee Weander (right), of Norfolk, serve beer to guests out of the freshly tapped keg at Oktoberfest in Norfolk on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. Guests were invited to take a free drink from the keg filled with Oktoberfest beer. Traditionally speaking, the beers are dark-colored lagers and are consumed around the world during the festival. Photo by Kellyn Jewett/NNS
Clementine Mason, 2, plays in the bounce houses at Oktoberfest in Norfolk on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. Photo by Kellyn Jewett/NNS
Guests congregate under the tent at Oktoberfest in Norfolk on Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. Photo by Kellyn Jewett/NNS
