St. Edward Catholic Church will host a scaled-down, drive-thru version of Oktoberfest on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 10 and 11. Oct.
The cancellation of the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest left numerous local charitable organizations without a major fundraiser. St. Edward church leaders stepped up to help fill in the gap.
“We started reaching out to some of the groups that we see at the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest and then things started coming together really quickly,” said Bonnie Henny, business manager at St. Edward.
Henny said the major piece fell into place when the Oregon Dairy Women agreed to set up an ice cream and milkshake stand. ODW is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization with the goal of promoting the dairy industry through outreach and educational programs.
“It wouldn’t have happened without them,” Henny said.
The drive-thru event will follow COVID-19 restrictions with limited walk-up and no sit-down service. There will be limited park-and-eat spaces available at the church. Visitors should enter the church property at the stop light at Claggett Street North and River Road North, all booths will have drive-up service.
Official hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, but some booths may open a little earlier or stay open until food runs out.
Other food booths will include:
• St. Joseph School potatoes.
• The Father Taaffe Homes O’fest sausages.
• Gervais Knights of Columbus BBQ chicken.
• Brigittine Monks fudge and truffles sold by Troop 105 Boy Scouts.
• Michael the Archangel cinnamon rolls.
• St. Edward’s Berliner sandwich.
• St. Edward tamales.
The Keizer Community Library Committee will be hosting a voter registration booth during the festival.
“We know everyone has been struggling and we wanted to create an opportunity for some fun,” Henny said.
