Oktoberfest is more than beer

What you need to know:

BEYOND THE BREW. Oktoberfest, commonly known for the different beer brands, attracted all manner of people and it went beyond the drinking.

Oktoberfest is a traditional German beer and food festival that is celebrated world over in October. In Uganda, the event was held at the Uganda Museum grounds which in my view are ideal and convenient for such an august event.

Typical menu
Copious amounts of beer are consumed at the Oktoberfest in Germany, with more than eight million litres. There are also amusement rides, side stalls and games of all manner. Libations and food go hand in glove. In Germany, one would be served an array of traditional food such as hendel (roast chicken), schweinebraten (roast pork), schweinshaxe (grilled ham hock), steckerlfish (grilled fish on a stick), wurst (sausages), knodel (potato or bread dumplings), kaseptzle (cheese noodles), reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), sauerkraut (red cabbage though white can also be used), and weissurst (a white sausage).
While some of the above mentioned foods were available, they were in the minority. Chicken and goat mchomo with chips were the most popular and preferred food for the crowd.

Activity
The guest of honour was the German ambassador Dr Albrecht Conze who was impressed with the enthusiastic and appreciative crowd that turned up in droves.
“Today, we have all experienced exciting portions of the German and Uganda culture, the festivities and celebrations have made me nostalgic but above all, it has been an amazing Oktoberfest,” he said.
Among some of the activities that were on hand included the beer straw challenge, beer pong, beer glass hoisting as well as food eating competitions. Naturally, there were prizes galore to be won and all in all this was a fun filled family day.

The music
Tusker Lite seemed to be the beer of choice for many revellers and pitchers of this beer were imbibed by them to slake their thirst. In terms of entertainment, we were regaled with performances from Qwela Band as well as the energetic and feisty diva Sheebah Karungi with her boundless energy and husky voice belting out favourites (with her fans singing along) such as Wankona, Nkwatako, and Silwana. The woman is a polished performer bound to arouse even the most jaded crowd.
She had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand and her show was a great and fitting finale to wind up Oktoberfest.

The deal
Place: Oktoberfest
Rating: Worth a visit
Address: Uganda Museum, Kamwokya
The menu: A potpourri of favourite traditional German food such as bratwurst, frankfurters, sauerkraut to mention just a few items. Rolex, chicken and goat mchomo and chips.
The space: Enormous and perfect for such outside events
The crowd: Very multicultural with a lot of the young and trendy Ugandans who love beer and bites
Ambience: Informal
The bar: beer along with several other beverage suppliers.
The damage: Entrance was Shs 20,000 and the food varied in cost from shs 10’000 and up.
Sound level: Noisy
Parking: Abundant and secure
If you go: Once a year