Oktoberfest returns to Myrtle Beach’s Market Common

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Have a hankering for a fun family event that includes German music, Bavarian costumes, fun and games for children and, for grown-ups, a wide selection of amazing beer?

Consider The Market Common's seventh annual Oktoberfest celebration, taking place Oct. 3-4 in Myrtle Beach.

This popular festival of Bavarian beer, culture, music and more has been filling The Market Common with visitors since 2008. They come for the food, the beer, the music, the activities and everything else that makes an Oktoberfest celebration a memorable family event.

This year, Oktoberfest runs from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3 and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4.

Here's what to expect:

  • Live German music on Saturday
  • German food from a variety of vendors
  • 20 vendors of crafts, gifts and more
  • Selection of Oktoberfest beer
  • Pumpkin patch for children
  • Face painting, inflatables and other fun and games for children
  • Oktoberfest steins

Sounds like fun, huh?

Oktoberfest is celebrated in cities all over the world, but it originated in Munich, a city in the Bavarian region of Germany, in 1810. The real event is still celebrated in Munich annually — it's a 16-day festival that runs through the first weekend in October. More than 6 million people attend the Munich festival each year, making it the largest fun fair in the world, featuring traditional German food, clothing (lederhosen for men, dirndl for women), plus amusement park rides, horse races and more.

In Germany, only beer that meets the standards of the Reinheitsgebot (“Germen Beer Purity Law”), with  a minimum of 6% alcohol by volume, may be served at Oktoberfest. It also must be brewed within the Munich city limits, or cannot be designated as an Oktoberfest beer.

More than 1.8 million gallons of beer are consumed at the Munich Oktoberfest each year.

Market Common can't hold a candle to that, but there will still be plenty of choices for beer lovers, plus cider and wine, including:

  • Becks Oktoberfest (12 oz bottle) – $4
  • Highland Clawhammer (16oz draft) – $5
  • Sam Adams Octoberfest (16oz draft) – $5
  • Sam Adams Fat Jack Pumpkin (16 oz draft) – $5
  • New South Oktoberfest (16oz draft) – $5
  • Angry Orchard Cider (16 oz draft) – $5
  • Bud Light (16 oz draft) – $4
  • Southern Tier Pumking (16 oz draft) – $6
  • Terrapin Pumpkinfest (16 oz draft) – $5
  • Miscellaneous craft (12 oz bottles) – $3
  • Copa Di Vino wine – $5

If the beer isn't quite enough, try to soak up some of the Bavarian history of Oktoberfest. It all began in 1810, when Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The royal family invited the citizens of Munich to attend the wedding festivities in front of the city gates. Many thousands of people attended, and the fields where the party was held were named Theresienwiese (“Theresa's meadow”) in honor of the Crown Princess. Munich locals have since shortened the name of the Oktoberfest grounds to the “Wiesn.” The festival is still held there each year, though over the past 200 years, it has been cancelled 24 times because of epidemics or war.

In Myrtle Beach, Oktoberfest takes place at Valor Park in The Market Common, a 114-acre lifestyle center featuring townhomes, stores, restaurants, a movie theater and a grocery store.

For more information on Oktoberfest at The Market Common, visit the event website, or contact The Market Common, 4017 Deville St., Myrtle Beach, SC 29577. 843-839-3500.

(posted 9/4/14)
(Photo courtesy: SuitesOfTheMarketCommon.com)