Royal Windsor Racecourse is launching its first ever Oktoberfest this year – featuring all the classic sights and festivities you’d expect from the rip-roaring German celebration.
The event is being held over two days, Friday 10 and Saturday 11, across three sessions: Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday night.
Expect roaming hosts in classic lederhosen and dirndl hoisting foam-topped steins; hearty food including bratwurst, schnitzel, sauerkraut, and giant pretzels; and of course, plenty of beer.
There will be German folk musicians and traditional Oompah band – a four-piece called The Horn Brokers who will play a mixture of classic and modern Oktoberfest anthems.
More on the entertainment side, there will also be Bavarian dancers and a DJ.
Windsor Racecourse is using one of its existing structures, converted for the purpose – the paddock lawn with a marquee, which will be decked out with classic long benches.
It will be set up to seat 600 people and will feature a bar serving German beers among other drinks.
Jimmy Wallace, executive director at Royal Windsor Racecourse said:
“It will all be very much as you’d imagine from the Munich [Oktoberfests] that you might have seen in the past. It’s the full monty.
“We’ll be very much encouraging people to put on dirndl and lederhosen, and we’ll be doing best dress competitions.”
These will rank people’s traditional outfits on ‘most stylish, spirited, and creative’.
Also on the entertainment front, there will be a variety of games to keep everyone entertained, from yodelling contests to pretzel eating competitions to sausage throwing.
For those looking to show off their endurance, there will be a sweat-inducing stein-holding challenge, where the contestants must hold a 1-litre stein of beer (weighing more than 2kg) out at arm’s length in front of them.
Holding an Oktoberfest is something Windsor Racecourse has been looking into for some time, said Jimmy.
“It’s definitely been talked about in the last couple of years by my predecessors. I started here in January and I’m keen that we take the plunge and give it a go.
“In my previous job when I ran Richmond Rugby Club, we did a few Oktoberfests there and they were always very popular nights, so we’re confident this will be as well.
“There’s no Oktoberfest in the immediate vicinity, so we felt it was a good opportunity to get one up and running.”
Ticket sales have already begun and are going ‘quite well’, he said.
It’s £25 to come along and there are also ‘Bavarian bundle packages’ which include beer and food vouchers. These are proving popular, said Jimmy. There is also a VIP package.
In June, Windsor Racecourse faced some complaints from neighbours over noise, litter and antisocial behaviour in surrounding streets related to a private event it hosted.l
Jimmy addressed this, saying the Racecourse will be putting a noise management plan in place but doesn’t anticipate this event being overly noisy.
There were also concerns over too many people parking on surrounding residential streets – which has also been addressed.
“We’ll be encouraging people not to drive to the event,” Jimmy said. “We’re connecting with local taxi firms to [arrange for people] to get home.”
To book one of the sessions, visit windsor-racecourse.co.uk/whats-on
Start and end times are listed as TBA.
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