Week 1 (15-16 Sep 2012) As always, the opening weekend is celebrated as America's Heroes Weekend with free admission for past and present military, law enforcement & fire fighter personnel. The Express Band, Southern California's Premier German band, performed along with Big Bear's own Polka Tots. We also had a special guest via video link as Hans officially passed the Burgermeister mantle down to his daughter, Monica. I hope you enjoy this week's pictures.
Week 2 (22-23 Sep 2012) The second weekend is highlighted by the arrival of this year's band directly from Germany for the first weekend of its three week engagement - the Franken Power Express. They brought with them several new audience participation activities that were making the rounds in Germany. It also marked the start of an almost three week visit by our newly "adopted" German daughter, Stephanie Wiegand. Thank you, Petra and Manfred for letting her visit. You'll see her in many of the pictures. This weekend was also the preliminary (practice) round for the Queen contest (the winner carries the most steins filled with water and spills the least). I hope you enjoy the pictures. At Rick's suggestion, I even added commentary to some of them this time.
Week 3 (29-30 Sep 2012) There aren't quite as many pictures this weekend because we left a little early on Saturday to attend grandson Joshua's 4th birthday. However, I think you'll probably enjoy them because the highlight of the weekend was a visit by the originator of this event 42 years ago - Hans Bandows. It was a real treat to see both Hans and Erika and both of them were constantly asked to pose for pictures (and not just by me). Other highlights included the second weekend with the Franken Power Express from Germany, the second weekend with our "adopted" Stephanie from Germany, and a visit by three of our daughters (Sharna, Lisa, and Chris) two grandsons (Calen and Joshua) and three granddaughters (Ciara, Nayeli, and Julia).
Bonus "Week 3.5" (aka KTLA) (02 Oct 2012) This "week" we have a special treat for you. We were invited to the KTLA (TV5) studios in Los Angeles to promote the Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest on their highly rated Morning News show. I did take quite a few behind-the-scenes photos of what goes on and I've also uploaded some of the on-air segments I'd recorded and converted to YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
Week 4 (5-7 Oct 2012) There are probably a few more pictures than normal this week since it had 3 days of shows. The annual Locals Night was added to the normal Saturday & Sunday events. Sadly, this weekend also marked the final weekend this year for the Franken Power Express Band from Germany and also the last weekend that our newly-"adopted" daughter, Stephanie, would be here with us.
Week 5 (13-14 Oct 2012) Believe it or not, we're coming into the home stretch - and it's actually starting to feel like it. This 5th of 7 weekends marked the return of the Express Band, affectionally referred to as Southern California's Premier German band, for the first of their three engagements to carry us to the end of this years festival. It also included the finals for the Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest Queen contest where the winner is determined by who can carry the largest number of water-filled steins that weigh 5 lbs. each.
Week 6 (20-21 Oct 2012) Here we go - this was the last full weekend. In addition to the normal "in-house" entertainment, we were visited by one of my favorite groups - the Cripple Creek Cloggers - and they did not disappoint. They had two performances on Saturday and one on Sunday and had different outfits for each one. On Sunday, we also had another visit from Hans and Erika. I hope you enjoy the pictures recording the weekend for you.
Week 7 (27 Oct 2012) Well, we did it! We made it to (and through) the last day. Our final day included a performance by Big Bear's Polka Tots, music by The Express Band, and halloween costume contests by both children and adults. So, please enjoy the pictures and make a mental note to plan on joining us next year.