A toast to German culture: Harvard Square celebrates 45th annual Oktoberfest

By Reporter Pranati Kotamraju and Reporter Hannah Brueske

Whether it was beer or face painting, Harvard Square had it all as it celebrated its 45th annual Oktoberfest last Sunday.

The streets of Harvard square were filled with excitement. It was impossible to escape the joyful spirit in the air, thousands of people crowded the streets, colorful banners decorated booths of food, and live bands played on several stages. There were a range of activities attendees could participate in, such as crafts for kids or beer gardens for adults, creating an atmosphere that people of all ages and cultures could enjoy.

Oktoberfest started over 200 years ago in Germany, to commemorate the marriage of Prince Ludwig, who was the crown prince of Bavaria, a region in southern Germany. 

In the following years, the festival developed into an agricultural fair. Drinking beer became a primary aspect of the festival, not only because it was a significant part of Bavarian culture, but it simultaneously helped boost the economy. By 1818, other well known components of the festival such as food and live music were introduced. 

What had started in Germany soon spread across the world, with various countries  incorporating Oktoberfest elements with some local traditions as well. In Boston, Oktoberfest has been celebrated for close to half a century on the first Sunday of October. Though booths of various cultures were present, the essence of Oktoberfest remained in Harvard Square.

One of the German vendors at the celebration was Stefan Sawadsky. Sawadsky owns ‘Das Sweet Treat’, a family business that sells traditional German pastries such as quarkbaellchen, which are small deep fried balls of dough. 

Oktoberfest attracts thousands of visitors each year. It’s a very lucrative opportunity for small businesses.

“We were lucky enough that they accepted us, because spots for all the vendors are very tight,” Sawasdky said. 

“We have a lot of Germans who recognize the business and come to us and ask us about the business, ask how we got here and why we are selling a German product in Boston and the Massachusetts area. It's always good to have that conversation. You see that German family right there? They came for the same reason.” 

Many people that attended Oktoberfest were of German heritage and came to the festival as an opportunity to connect with their culture. Some had previously gone to Oktoberfest in Germany and were looking to find a community in Boston. 

One of the attendees, Lux Brighton, had never attended Oktoberfest in Germany but came in hopes of seeing traditional German culture being shown in Boston. 

“I’m mostly here to get some good old fashioned German food and beer and wander around to see what's going on,” Brighton said. 

“It's very important to find your sense of culture even if it's small or niche, there is a huge sense of Irish and Italian culture here but one should also strive to find the smaller communities here such as German. We should seek out what we can find in festivals,” he said 

Wearing traditional clothing was one method attendees used to embrace German culture and to get into the Oktoberfest spirit. 

After having lived in Germany for the past three years, attendee Karly Wilkes donned a historic German Dirndl while her husband wore Lederhosen. This was the couple’s first time attending Oktoberfest in Boston.  

“It’s really cool to see all different people show up,” Wilkes said. “Cambridge is much more diverse in Germany, it was cool to see a culture that’s been around for hundreds and hundreds of years and how they are still pretty traditional in a lot of things they do. 

“In Cambridge you get the huge diversity of all the different cultures meshing into one and get to experience a bunch of different things,” she said.