The 10th annual Ozarktoberfest, held Oct. 7, raised $250 in donations for the Greater West Plains Area Boys & Girls Club. Proceeds raised over the past decade are in excess of $6,000 and have gone toward the payment of youth tuition in the after-school program.
The majority of funds raised came by way of the masskrugstemmen, or mug-holding competition, which garnered about $200 in entry fees, contributed by 33 entrants, which Ozarktoberfest organizer Phil Wages said he believed to be the largest turnout to date.
“The contestants were all wonderful sports, who provided entertainment to the crowd with their strength, competitive nature and hilarious faces,” said Bethany Turner, who judged the contest with fellow Boys & Girls Club board member Amber Tooley. The competitors were divided into five heats, the winner of each heat participating in the final round. The champion at the end of the day was Clayton Smith with a time of 4 minutes and 37 seconds, just one minute shy of last year’s winning time set by Chris Goodfellow, who also participated this year. For his efforts, Smith was rewarded with a $100 prize package sponsored by Wages Brewing Company.
Turner and Tooley also used the competition as an opportunity to remind the crowd assembled of the purpose of the Greater West Plains Area Boys & Girls Club.
The German-inspired fall celebration was attended by more than 100 stepping out into the first cool fall weather of the season, about two-thirds of whom sampled more than 30 beers and nine German wines. King Size, a Springfield-based duo playing bluegrass-infused tunes, played a three-hour set, and afterward, “we kept the fun rolling at the Wages Brewing taproom” with acclaimed banjoist and keyboard player Dennis Bottoms performing until 8 p.m. under the taproom’s front porch, said Wages.
“We'd like to thank all the volunteers who came to help including Nathan Callahan, Kirk Hoffmann II, Alex Eggert, Alyssa King, Bethany Turner, Amber Tooley, Moiria and James Seiber, and likely a half dozen other folks who just randomly helped out as needed,” he added. “We absolutely couldn't pull this off without all the love and support we received from the community.”
Those who were unable to attend may still have an option to sample some German flavors, Wages noted. The taproom will offer the few remaining German beers as a to-go option soon; for updates and details, follow @WagesBrewCo on Facebook or email Phil@wagesbrewco.com to request to be added to the newsletter mailing list.
