Is Oktoberfest in Trouble, as RiverParks Makes Drastic Changes

[Hoss]

The problem with the pitchers is everyone knows you send one guy with an ID to buy the pitcher then share with the under 21's. The second problem is you tend to finish the pitcher cause its so expensive. I've never seen so many drunks in one place in my life and I drive a party bus. Corporate night should be filmed and redistributed to all sponsor employees so they can see who they work for and with. Years ago the company I worked for sponsored and in return had a banner put at the top of the tent (barely visible) so I got to visit on Corporate night and check on our investment. Frankly, it was an embarrassment. We never did it again.

I'm no prude but,....oh, the humanity....

Back in the nineties when I worked at an establishment literally walking distance from the park (north of Rodgers Litho at 23rd and Jackson), we always shut the shop down at 2pm and we all went to Corporate night.  I agree.  I've never seen so many drunk people in one place at one time...well, except for Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

[Red Arrow]

an all-new 1-litre commemorative stein, made of thick acrylic (not plastic)

I hate to inform them but acrylic is plastic.

[Red Arrow]

I don't know of anyone who can drink 64 ounces of heavy german beer fast enough that it stays cold without getting stumbling drunk quickly.  That takes the whole fun out of the event.

I don't think I could even drink that much Millercoorsbud Lite that fast. 

[Red Arrow]

Just for reference, 1 litre = 33.8 oz (approx). 

[Hoss]

Just for reference, 1 litre = 33.8 oz (approx). 

In my youth I could down one of those in about 8 seconds.  Not now.

[Red Arrow]

In my youth I could down one of those in about 8 seconds.  Not now.

Not me.  I was never a speed drinker.  I was in it for the long haul.   

[Vashta Nerada]

RPA wants OF to be a stable, profitable operation that isn't shut down by Able and it seems that was not possible with the current setup.

It would seem our city leaders could direct TPD to limit cooperation with a low-accountability agency bent on the destruction of our tourism economy, but apparently the lure of overtime trumps that.

De-funding ABLE should be a chamber priority.

[Hoss]

Not me.  I was never a speed drinker.  I was in it for the long haul.   

Me and about five buddies of mine perfected the art of 'shotgunning' tallboys, or the big quart cans.  However you usually wound up wearing at least a third of it.

[sgrizzle]

Beer is a variable cost, not fixed. You pay for what you consume.

The insurance comment was festival insurance, not liability. It covers you from losing 1.2Million in case the festivals tanks one year.

[Conan71]

Beer is a variable cost, not fixed. You pay for what you consume.

The insurance comment was festival insurance, not liability. It covers you from losing 1.2Million in case the festivals tanks one year.

Seems like you have a really good grasp of the event, financials, and other details. What are the fixed costs to run the event?  Seems like they were doing middling profit at $1.1 to !.2 Mil total revenue reflected on financials from '06 or '07 through '11.  Suddenly they raked in over $300K with $1.5 mil in one year.

Seems like you are a little defensive regarding RPA and this event.  For disclosure sake, are you now an RPA board member or helping put this together or simply taking the defense due to your involvement with Mayfest?  Not trying to pick a fight, simply asking for full disclosure sake as you seem a little defensive on RPA's behalf. 

[DolfanBob]

Not me.  I was never a speed drinker.  I was in it for the long haul.   

Me too. I "was" a start to finish kinda guy. Still an a**hole no matter how I got there. 

[rdj]

I have no involvement in the event but I don't have a problem with the change.  I've dumped too many pitchers of beer at the end of the night because our group was ready to go and didn't want to speed drink half a pitcher of Warsteiner.

My understanding from talking to someone involved with another festival is they believe the lines will move faster because filling 16oz & 1L cups goes a lot faster than filling two 64 oz pitchers.  I also understand the law is two drinks, but it doesn't limit the size.

Last year we went just for the people watching.  It was state fair quality viewing.

[Hoss]

Me too. I "was" a start to finish kinda guy. Still an a**hole no matter how I got there. 

But when you are 20 to 22 years old with a bunch of your friends, you tend to be a 'little' competitive.  

[Gaspar]

http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/riverparks-eliminates-oktoberfest-committees-will-/nZFKS/

My two cents. . .

After working the board for several festivals across the state, and helping to develop a couple right here in Tulsa, I can tell you that when you break the organization, for whatever reason, the festival is over.  It takes far more than a small group meeting once a month to pull off a festival of this magnitude and make it profitable.

PR, sponsorship, and volunteer recruitment & management are 99% of the battle.  To bring this all together by October, they should have most of the larger sponsorships sold by NOW!  Through this press, RiverParks may lose much of the festival's momentum, and it will take significant additional investment to gain a portion of it back.  I wish them the best, but it's going to be an uphill climb.  They will need a passionate and dedicated staff willing to take this on as more than a diversion.  

All of that aside, it seems that the fiefdom known as ABLE is getting more bold.

[DowntownDan]

I don't know much about how these things are organized, but from the outside looking in, it looks like the only major change is the picher thing.  Yeah, some are upset about it, but I really don't think it will keep people away.  If your decision to go or not is based on the difference between a 64 ounce picher and a 33 ounce stein, you might have a drinking problem.  Otherwise, the beer will still flow, the food will still be great, and the music will still be fun.  The only thing that might be a problem is if they decide to jack up prices significantly on the beer.  A picher of the good stuff was already pretty expensive, $19 or $20 I recall.  So a stein with roughly half the volume should be $10 or no more than $12.  If they want to charge $15 or more they are asking for trouble.  I go to Oktoberfest already expecting to pay a whole lot for beer.  A significant price hike might be a problem.  The price of the stein will also be a factor.  If you want $5 entrance fee, plus parking, plus another $20 just for a stein to fill with beer, it's another pricing problem that might affect attendance.