Throughout the second half of October, the courtyard of Central Market resonated to the sounds of Bavaria, as Central Market hosted its annual Oktoberfest celebrations.
Known by those who haven’t experienced it as simply a beer festival, there’s much more than just frothy steins of German lager being enjoyed at this event which is steeped in more than 200 years of history and tradition. Delicious Bavarian cuisine, entertaining German folk music, and plenty of party games and songs attracted crowds of excited Hong Kongers, who revelled nightly in the European community atmosphere.
Today in Munich, huge temporary beer halls are erected, complete with long communal tables, balconies for spectators, and stages for the bands who entertain the enthusiastic, raucous, and often inebriated audiences. The 2024 event, like each one before it, produced some spectacular statistics, with 6.7 million visitors consuming 7 million litres of beer – that’s three Olympic sized swimming pools filled with lager.
Central Market didn’t quite match those numbers, but what it possibly lacked in quantity, it certainly made up for in quality and enthusiasm. Chef Angelo Gordon of Chef’s Market, for many years an enthusiast of this iconic style of celebration, invited the city’s favourite German folk band, The Notenhoblers, back to perform. The band’s inclusive style encourages participation from all and creating a convivial community atmosphere steeped in German culture and tradition.
If you missed it last time, be sure to mark your calendar for this coming October!
