TCHS serves up new site for Oktoberfest
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Instead of "Play Ball!," the cry will be "Hoist Stein!" next weekend at 7 17 Credit Union Field at Eastwood in Niles.
The ballpark becomes the new home for the Trumbull County Historical Society's Oktoberfest, which will have its 11th edition from 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 26.
Ryan MacLennan, TCHS director of operations and outreach, said Matt Thompson, assistant general manager of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, is on the historical society's board, and they've been talking for a couple of years about moving from downtown Warren's Courthouse Square to Niles.
"After 10 years downtown, we felt like we needed a change, and we really thought moving it to 7 17 Credit Union Field at Eastwood would probably generate more interest outside of Warren," MacLennan said. "When we looked around our area, we couldn’t find another place that hosted an Oktoberfest at a baseball stadium, so we thought this was a really unique opportunity to try something different and try to take advantage of one of the area’s most popular locations."
It also already has the infrastructure in place that TCHS staff and volunteers had to set up and tear down each year on the square.
"All of those things are in place already at the field -- security, restrooms, kitchens -- all of that is built in there, which has allowed us more time to focus on marketing and making better contacts with breweries as opposed to renting Porta Potties and renting of tents and tables and things like that," he said. "It allowed us to focus on other aspects that we thought were important."
This year's event will have a larger beer and cider selection than ever before with local makers Modern Methods, Birdfish, Noble Creature, Biker Brewhouse, 1547 Project, Paladin and Dope Cider House and Winery joined by regional brewers Bell Tower in Kent, Thirsty Dog in Akron and Brew Kettle, which has production site in Middleburg Heights and multiple taprooms.
Tickets for the event include a dinner of traditional German fare, including bratwurst, sauerkraut, German potato salad and spaetzle.
"There will also be a la carte options (for purchase) that the stadium will serve, whether that be pretzels or ice cream," MacLennan said. "You can still get your ballpark nachos, those sorts of things."
Entertainment will be provided by the Youngstown Saxon Band, and traditions such as the grape stomping competition and stein hoist will continue at the new site.
The grape stomping continues to be a popular focal point of the event," MacLennan said. "It focuses everybody’s attention in one direction. It’s fun to see your friends, your neighbors, family members stomping grapes. I think that that’s what people get a real kick out of.
"But I will say that the stein hoist has become very popular since it started two years ago, and I feel like the more we continue to do this, the more and more popular that will continue to become."
Oktoberfest is the historical society's biggest annual fundraiser, and it has the potential to become even larger.
"We’d like to see this event continue to grow as a partnership with not only the Scrappers but with the Cataro Company, because all three parties involved can envision this becoming a rather large event in Trumbull County, something that really drives tourism as a mainstay of our community," MacLennan said. "We’ve talked about potentially expanding it to the parking lot and making it a much larger, longer event than the four hours it is now, but that’s all potentially in the future."
If you go …
WHAT: Trumbull County Historical Society's 11th Oktoberfest
WHEN: 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 26
WHERE: 7 17 Credit Union Field at Eastwood, Niles.
HOW MUCH: Tickets are $30 for adults and include a meal and two alcoholic drink tickets, $15 for those ages 12 to 20 with a meal and two soft drink tickets and free for children ages 11 and younger. Tickets are available online at trumbullcountyhistory.org/oktoberfest/