On Oct. 26, the Upper School celebrated Oktoberfest with its annual Community Time festivities, which included an Alma Mater competition and an Oktoberfest celebration. Oktoberfest is an annual festival held in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The festival originates with a party held in honor of a royal marriage.
The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the wedding festivities of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810. The celebration was so popular that the town decided to host the party again in 1811.
Oktoberfest is now held officially in Munich from Sept. 17 to the first Sunday of October or Oct. 3, which comes later. Since 1811, Oktoberfest has grown in popularity, now being celebrated worldwide. It even includes carnivals, beer tents, live concerts, horse races, and many more spirited activities.
The Alma Mater Competition is where each house puts on a show demonstrating their GA spirit and ability to sing the Alma Mater. This four-minute show included unique renditions of the Alma Mater. The winning house this year was Roberts.
Roberts’ performance, based on the film Rocky, starred prefect Alex Brereton ’24 and Aiden Swartz ’25 as opposing boxers. When Swartz stage-punched Brereton, Madison Destefano ’24 said, “Thy spirit shall not die.”
After that, all of Roberts’s house stood up and started singing the Alma Mater. The performance ended with Brereton beating Swartz in the boxing match. Following the competition, the Upper School was dismissed to enjoy the Oktoberfest festivities on the Middle School Green.
The celebration included German music and food, such as pretzels, gummy bears, sausages, and rootbeer. In addition, Germantown Academy hired Mr. Thomas Razler and his band to perform various German songs to enliven the Oktoberfest atmosphere.
Rob Eppienger ’25 participated in the festivities. He livened up the atmosphere, took pictures with students and faculty, and promoted his out-of-school Oktoberfest performance with his dance group.
“The celebration was a lot of fun, and it seemed like everyone had a good time eating and dancing,” said Eppienger. “It was really nice getting an actual band this year. Definitely a lot closer to what an actual event feels like.”
Many of the seniors in Head of School Mr. Rich Schellhas’ German class also enjoyed the Oktoberfest celebration. “I loved the music and the food,” said Maddy Donches ’24. “I also really enjoyed participating in the dancing.”
Overall, the festivities of Oktoberfest and the competitive spirit of the Alma Mater competition formed a memorable, enjoyable Community Time for students and faculty.