There will be a chorus of "prosts" in Port Moody this month and next when the inaugural Oktoberfest celebrations get underway and the tennis courts behind city hall are transformed into a Bavarian beer hall.
But in the meantime, organizers are hard at work cutting, hammering, sanding and building all of the booths, tables and benches that thousands of thirsty patrons will be parked at from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, and from Oct. 7 to Oct. 9.
Those organizers — Coquitlam residents Fred and Erika Ledlin — have been dreaming of the idea of a local Oktoberfest for decades, and pitched the idea to an enthusiastic PoMo council in the spring.
"It's a bit crazy, but sometimes crazy makes people happy," Fred Ledlin said with a grin.
He fell for the fall homage to hops during a stint playing professional hockey in Germany about 30 years ago.
"I was playing in the WHL [Western Hockey League] and a guy asked if I'd be interested in playing pro hockey in Europe," Ledlin said. "Two days later, I was on a flight to Germany. I got there and stayed with billets and I just fell in love with it."
And he knew that when he returned to Canada, he would find a way to bring the Oktoberfest fun with him.
But back in the 1990s, the craft beer craze was still a long way off, and Ledlin remembers a few sidelong glances when he looked into organizing a local Oktoberfest celebration.
Fast forward to early 2016 and Ledlin astutely gauged the time was right, given the support for RibFest, the Coquitlam Kinsmen International Craft Beer Festival and the Tri-Cities Cask Festival — not to mention the success of the four craft breweries on Murray Street in PoMo.
Getting approval from the city proved to be the unexpectedly easy part, and the frenzied pace of preparations began soon after. A website went live, vendors were contacted, location and security plans were drawn up, and the liquor licence application submitted.
Ledlin, whose background is in construction, called on an old friend, Leon Pesklevits, to help design and build the booths, benches and tables, all of which come apart in pieces or fold up to be stored in containers.
Still, something was missing.
"We really want to be the most authentic Oktoberfest experience, outside of flying to Munich and staying in a hotel," Ledlin said. "I want to give people a little taste of Germany."
That's when Ledlin thought of his network of friends and hockey players in Europe and reached out to them, asking if anybody wanted to come to Canada to help out.
A young Austrian by the name of Bernhard Stranig, a passionate mountain biking devotee and a master cabinet maker, jumped at the chance to leave his father's business for a time and enjoy the wilds of B.C.
"It's pretty exciting to me because I'm involved in all of the infrastructure," Stranig said while working in Ledlin's back yard.
Back home, he just shows up at Oktoberfest celebrations to enjoy a few beers — "It's not my part to build it all. It's exciting to see how it's coming together in such a short time."
He's joined by fellow Austrian Teresa Schober, who's taking a break from her job in a Salzburg hotel but discovered a little slice of home here in the Tri-Cities.
"I thought it was a really neat idea for them to bring something from another country," Schober said. "We have a lot of [Oktoberfests] at home but they're usually not this nice."
Aside from all the building, there was beer to be sourced.
Ledlin has secured all four of PoMo's craft brewers as well as a couple of authentic German brews. Paulaner — one of six brewers at the official Oktoberfest celebrations — has sent a batch of a specially made beer via ship, and Hacker Pschorr will also be on tap.
And when the thirsty Oktoberfesters get hungry, they'll be able to nosh on authentic German goodies like schnitzel, pretzels, bratwurst and more.
The family-friendly event will include a family section and an area for the 19-and-older crowd. Kids and the young at heart can enjoy a bit of soccer and hockey, as well as life-sized Jenga and more.
And all of it will be to the tune of, you guessed it, a pair of oompahpah bands: The Rheinlanders and The Oktoberators.
• Volunteers are needed in a variety of roles; contact [email protected] For more information, visit www.oktoberfest2016.ca.
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