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Oktemberfest continues to gain momentum with 2022 edition

The weather was perfect, the streets were packed and the Oktemberfest parade – the centerpiece of Marshalltown’s annual late-September festival – was going off without a hitch Saturday morning following the annual 5k run at sunrise.

Unable to see how the rest of the event was proceeding was Oktemberfest President and parade director Stephanie Anderson, who for the first time was a participant in the parade in one of the first convertibles, right behind Little Miss and Mr. Oktemberfest.

For the first-year President, who is currently seven months pregnant, it was a somewhat nerve-wracking experience to not be in control – particularly after having to make some late-night changes to the parade order following late entries getting approved.

“We had a lot of things happen last minute this year, but everything pulls through at the last minute it seems like,” Anderson said. “We took entries even [Friday]. It always works out.

“Having people help with this is a definite must, so our board is great. It was kind of weird leaving the starting point. I noticed even down towards the end of the parade route it was still packed, and usually it thins out. Big turnout this year.”

Clocking in at nearly two hours long, the parade had about the same amount of entries as the 2021 edition. However, Anderson said many entries carried multiple vehicles that didn’t in last year’s edition.

Entrants ranged from five high school marching bands – Marshalltown, Grinnell, Lynnville-Sully, Nashua-Plainfield and Roland-Story – and a number of students and student-athletes representing Marshalltown Community College to longtime Marshalltown body shop L. Hogeland, who used a whole fleet of vehicles for its entry. A number of local businesses and political candidates also advertised themselves and gave out candy to the large number of waiting kids in the crowds.

Following the parade, the large crowds made their way to the carnival area and the many food trucks lining Main Street. Scott Industries provided its usual carnival fare, while Bubba’s Bar-B-Q provided its ever-popular turkey legs along with barbeque food. There were also trucks from Maria’s Tacos, Forget Me Not, Gyro Palace, Boba Tea 168, WOW Donuts and more – a varied selection that left many festival-goers pondering their options. Anderson said she was proud of how many food vendors the event was able to snag this year.

Also impressive, Anderson said, was the group of vendors on Center St. After a very small selection of vendors took part in the festival last year, the street was lined with participants offering clothing, soap, probiotic lemonades and much more.

“I love it,” Anderson said. “Angel [Campbell] takes care of the vendors and merchants, and she’s been busting her butt recruiting. She’s gotta be close to what she said she was gonna have, and we had only three or four last year.”

The early afternoon was punctuated by the annual Low Rider Car Show/Hop, operated and hosted by Lizarde Hydraulics. A cast of creative and varied cars, vans and trucks with unique adjusted suspensions were on display.

T-R PHOTO BY AUSTIN CHADDERDON —  The 80s rock tribute band The Hype hit all the high notes and unforgettable guitar riffs on the bandshell downtown Saturday night. This was the second year the band has been at Oktemberfest and was met by an enthusiastic crowd who busted out their snakeskin and leather pants to relive their glory days.

As afternoon turned to night, the anticipation was high for the featured musical performer – The Hype. The 1980s cover band was the headliner for the second consecutive year after there were good reactions to their performance in 2021.

The feeling was mutual, according to guitarist Johnny Holliday.

“We were super excited. This was a lot of fun last year and [Marshalltown] took good care of us,” Holliday said. “When we saw this come back on the calendar, we were excited to come back.”

Following The Hype on Saturday was a slew of closing events on Sunday. The Chili Cook-Off returned after a multiple-year absence, while the Motorcycle Show took place in the afternoon.

As the festival came to a close, Vice President of the Oktemberfest board Tammy Losing expressed her appreciation and pride for the reception to the festival and the work done to make it a good weekend for the Marshalltown community.

“I am extremely proud of our whole entire board,” Losing said. “We’ve had new board members come on and it’s been a learning experience for them, but they have hit the ground running and they’ve been doing an amazing job. I mean, look at all the crafters and merchants here, it’s been years and years since we’ve had this many. It’s just amazing.”

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Contact Noah Rohlfing at 641-753-6611 or nrohlfing@timesrepublican.com.

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