Saturday, Oct. 13 saw Augustana’s second annual Oktoberfest at Armored Gardens in Davenport, an event planned by the Rho Nu Delta fraternity (Roundels) and the Sigma Pi Delta sorority (Speeds) to support the charity Closet2Closet.
Closet2Closet is “a local charity that provides clothing and other hygiene essentials to kids in the foster care system in the Quad Cities, started by professor Allison Haskill,” Andrew Silverman, senior and head of the event, said.
“Our family started the charity,” Haskill said in an email. “The original idea for it came from my daughter, Amber, who along with her twin, Amy, were adopted by my husband and me when they were 11.”
Oktoberfest is an annual volksfest (a beer and wine festival) that takes place in Munich, Bavaria, Germany from late September to early October. For Augustana’s Oktoberfest, however, you only need to travel a little under two miles to reach this event bringing a bit of Germany to the Davenport area. Though the real Oktoberfest has thousands of beers and ales available, the Armored Gardens offers over a hundred different types of drinks.
Despite the temperature being in the 30s, people were still able to enjoy the patio area of the event and could mingle inside and out as they please – a big difference from last year, when the event had to be moved inside due to rain, Silverman said.
When those in attendance first walked into Armored Gardens, they saw the over 100 drinks they have on tap, which was one of the things Andrew Silverman was most excited to see people’s reaction to. Beers, ales – you name it, they had it. They also had a menu that included items such as Mac-A-Rito, The Stunt Double, or just a grilled cheese. Special food and drink deals were set up just for Augustana’s Oktoberfest.
At the back of the venue was a large patio space where Oktoberfest mainly took place. “It’s really cute, I really like it,” first-year Emma Cintado said.
Armored Gardens was rented out entirely for Augustana students to come out and enjoy the outdoors. Groups of friends gathered in the gardens to enjoy activities such as a giant chess board, a putting green, beer pong and ping-pong tables. Several prizes including t-shirts and Das Boots were raffled away. Tables and chairs littered throughout the area allowed people to sit down, relax and chat with friends while they enjoyed their drinks. Augustana’s student radio organization, WAUG, came out to play music for Oktoberfest.
Buses shipped people to and from the event to make sure no one drove drunk, but it wasn’t just juniors and seniors who were old enough to drink who attended the event. Plenty of first-year students and sophomores came out to enjoy the event as well.
“I came with my friends and my roommate,” sophomore John Kappel said. “Everything put on is pretty cool.”
Photo Above: AJ Mimlitz, sophomore, and Alex Halterman, senior, playing water pong decide their next shot at Oktoberfest.