Press release 20.07.2014/Pa, W 04 Of Festival Halls, Bread Women and the “Schichtl” Variety Show: What the Oktoberfest Offers in 2014 The unique flair of Oktoberfest, the festival of the City of Munich, is derived from its distinct mix of beer festival and popular fair, traditional customs and party spirit, roller coasters and flea circus. There are 16 great festival halls that invite visitors to celebrate with Oktoberfest beer and hearty delicacies. All six of the major breweries are represented at the Oktoberfest at seven festival halls, as the huge beer tents with a capacity of almost 10,000 visitors each are called. Six additional festival halls are in family hands (Fischer-Vroni, Herzkasperlzelt, Marstall, Kufflers Weinzelt, Käfer Wies'n Schänke, Schottenhamel festival hall), and others belong to a marksmen’s club (Armbrustschützen festival tent, Schützen festival tent) and to the Festring München e.V. (festival tent “Tradition”). The festival hall of the Spaten-Franziskaner brewery keeps up the oxroasting tradition; every ox that ends up on the spit has a name that is made public. The Augustiner festival hall, the Fischer-Vroni tent and the Oide Wiesn tents still serve beer from a wooden barrel. All festival tents now also sell alcohol-free beer. Published by: City of Munich, Department of Labor and Economic Development Herzog-Wilhelm-Straße 15, 80331 Munich, Germany, http://www.munich.de/business Contact: Wolfgang Nickl, Tel.: +49(0)89 233-2 25 97, Fax: +49(0)89 233-2 76 51 Email: [email protected] The physical well-being of the visitors is ensured thanks to the presence of 140 small and mid-sized culinary outlets ranging from chicken roasters to small delicatessen stalls. Chicken roasters, Wiesn café owners and the operators of other Oktoberfest specialty establishments call themselves “small Wiesn caterers” as opposed to the landlords of the large festival halls. In their smaller scale festival tents they guarantee a truly convivial atmosphere. 178 fairground attractions compete for the favor of the visitor with not only the latest high-tech rides, but also nostalgic classics and historic rides that can only be enjoyed at the Wiesn: The Hexenschaukel (“Witch’s Swing”), the Flohzirkus (“Flea Circus”), the Teufelsrad (“Devil’s Wheel”), the variety show “Auf geht’s beim Schichtl” ("Raise the Curtain at Schichtl's"), the Krinoline (one of the oldest rides at the Oktoberfest), the Toboggan, the Russenrad (“Russian Wheel”) and the Zugspitzbahn (a music express-type ride) promise thrilling entertainment as do “Cobra” and “Sky Fall”, just to name a few. Satisfaction is guaranteed for every folk festival fan. The municipal booths and the hawkers at the entrance of the festival halls, along the gardens and at the access points to the fairgrounds are just as much part of the Oktoberfest universe. They sell everything from delicacies and alcohol-free drinks, to sweets, tobacco, fruit and souvenirs. The so-called “bread women” at the main and side entrances of the brewery festival halls are famous. They are the purveyors of the giant Wiesn pretzels, bread rolls, salt sticks and anything else that will make a Seite 2 hearty snack in a Wiesn beer garden. Many of the bread women -- and bread men -- have their regular customers who return each year to the bread stand to pick up their bakery products and the latest Wiesn tattle. The areas around the lighting masts are also typical for the Wiesn. These stands sell ice cream, Turkish delight, roasted almonds, fresh juices, joke articles, magic items, balloons and souvenirs. Measuring one’s strength with the high striker is also possible in the Wiesn lanes. An establishment that is probably unique for folk festivals is the booth called “Universum Oktoberfest”, where the history of the greatest popular festival in the world including background knowledge is dispensed during guided tours. You can try your luck at the raffles of the First Supporting Association of the Independent Charity Organizations in Munich, or at the ticket booths of the State Lottery Administration. Several service facilities, such as the Wiesn post office and cash points are available at the Oktoberfest. The Oide Wiesn is a place of yearning for all those who want to enjoy a cozy stroll of the Oktoberfest. In the southern part of Theresienwiese folk festival traditions, Bavarian customs, Munich hospitality, traditional and modern folk music have been firmly established. (→ Press release W 06 “The Oide Wiesn 2014”). Seite 3 The Offer at a Glance: Wiesn Caterers (140): 47 Delicatessen outlets 26 Sausage roasters 16 Festival halls 11 Café stands/milk/bakery products 9 Snack halls (including 1 pork knuckle roaster, 1 veal roaster, 1 outlet each for cheese, fish and venison as well as the first Munich dumpling outlet) 7 Beer bars (including 2 wheat beer carousels) 6 Cafés 6 Walk-up bars (champagne, spirits) 6 Chicken roasters 5 Fish roasters 1 Familienplatzl (family meeting point) Wiesn Goods (271): 112 Ice cream and sweets 69 Joke articles and souvenirs 67 Bread stalls 14 Glazed fruit 7 Tobacco 2 Fruit and juices Wiesn Sideshows (160): 37 Gaming and ball-tossing booths 36 Shooting galleries 28 Rides (including 17 merry-go-rounds) 20 Funfair and amusement attractions, including bird whistler (2), steep incline (1), maze (1), velodrome (1) 7 Bumper cars 6 Roller coasters 4 Lotteries (2) and raffle sales (2) 4 Ghost trains 4 High strikers 3 Swings 2 Chair o’planes 2 Ferris wheels 2 Photo booths (nostalgic and joke photographer) Seite 4 2 2 1 Slides White-water slides Museum tent Wiesn for Children (18): 8 Carousels 3 Baby flights 2 Riding lanes 1 Punch and Judy show 1 Puppet theater 1 Children’s dream loop 1 Bumper cars for children 1 Fairytale train (→Press release W 10, “Wiesn Hits for Kids”) The Festival Halls and their Landlords Festival Hall Landlords Contact Augustiner-Festzelt Manfred and Thomas Vollmer www.festhalle-augustiner.com Hackerbräu-Festzelt Anton, Christine and Thomas Roiderer www.hacker-festzelt.de Löwenbräu-Festzelt Ludwig Hagn and Stephanie Spendler www.loewenbraeuzelt.de Paulaner Festhalle “Winzerer Fähndl” Peter and Arabella Pongratz Festhalle Pschorr-Bräurosl Renate and Georg Heide www.winzerer-faehndl.de www.braeurosl.de Ochsenbraterei Anneliese Haberl and Antje Schneider www.ochsenbraterei.de Hofbräu-Festzelt Margot and Günter Steinberg, Friedrich Steinberg, Silja Schrank-Steinberg www.hb-festzelt.de Schottenhamel Festhalle Christian and Michael F. Schottenhamel www.festzelt.schottenhamel.de Seite 5 Armbrustschützen-Festzelt Peter, Josepha and Peter Franz Inselkammer www.armbrustschuetzenzelt.de Fischer-Vroni Johann and Silvia Stadtmüller www.fischer-vroni.de Marstall Sabine and Siegfried Able www.marstall-oktoberfest.de Schützen-Festzelt Eduard, Ludwig and Mathias Reinbold www.schuetzen-festzelt.de Kufflers Weinzelt Roland, Doris and Stephan Kuffler www.weinzelt.com Käfer Wies’n-Schänke Michael and Clarissa Käfer www.feinkost-kaefer.de Festzelt Tradition Toni and Christine Winklhofer, Peter and Margot Wieser www.oktoberfestzelttradition.de Herzkasperl-Zelt Josef Bachmaier www.herzkasperlzelt.de Press Contact Wiesn press office Dr. Gabriele Papke Phone: +49 (0) 89 233-82812 /813 Fax: +49 (0) 89 233-82810 Email: [email protected] Internet: www.oktoberfest.eu Oktoberfest – the Festival of the City of Munich Seite 6