Is Oktoberfest in Trouble, as RiverParks Makes Drastic Changes

[Boksooner]

RiverParks eliminates Oktoberfest committees, will stop sale of pitchers

Big changes have come to Tulsa's Oktoberfest, beginning with its entire organizational structure and extending down to how beer will be sold during the festival.
In an exclusive KRMG investigation, we've learned RiverParks has assumed control of Oktoberfest entirely.
Gone are the 64-ounce pitchers, along with the executive committee and working committee which have run the festival for decades.
RiverParks stepped in to help manage the festival after Oktoberfest took a loss of about $60,000 in 2010.

continued..

This is considered one of the best Oktoberfest celebrations in the country.  It seems that the flaw has been in marketing and not content.  Can TulsaNow save this great event?

[Ibanez]

Well there goes another once great Tulsa event.......

[DowntownDan]

So the response to lower revenues is to do away with the most popular item of the entire festival?  Makes sense.  They better rethink that and let it go on as it has.

[Hoss]

I wonder if ABLE had anything to do with this......

[swake]

I wonder if ABLE had anything to do with this......

read the article, they did.

But Carrigg says they made the decision after consultation with ABLE and Tulsa police.

[Hoss]

read the article, they did.

Ah, just skimmed over it.  Thanks.  Reading some of the comments on the article (it's funny now how the rhetoric is scaled back now that people are required to use their real names on there) it wasn't abundantly clear.

[AquaMan]

RiverParks eliminates Oktoberfest committees, will stop sale of pitchers

continued..

This is considered one of the best Oktoberfest celebrations in the country.  It seems that the flaw has been in marketing and not content.  Can TulsaNow save this great event?

I don't think marketing or content is the problem. It seems to be well attended and popular even to outsiders. The real issue here is administration. Whether the promoters' model is flawed and can never work as RPA alleges (worked for 30 yrs!) or whether RPA simply wants to bring it in house for control and liability limitations which is what defines an authority anyway.

The fest will do well regardless. And if it doesn't it will resurface somewhere else. I would be more concerned about how the volunteers feel they've been mistreated and how Hohulski feels railroaded. Tonya Carriger btw is only the pr person. She didn't make these decisions.

[DolfanBob]

I wonder if ABLE had anything to do with this......

I think you are making a "Smoot" point

[Hoss]

I think you are making a "Smoot" point

http://www.sadtrombone.com/?play=true

[Townsend]

I think you are making a "Smoot" point

What office is he going for?

[carltonplace]

IMO beer drinkers are becoming more sophisiticated but OctoberFest is not keeping pace (yes I've been hit in the head by the flying pennies...but still). Choices at OF are still fairly limited even though other Tulsa  beer garden type events are gaining in popularity.

[Ibanez]

What office is he going for?

Whatever it is he should never be elected.

[Cats Cats Cats]

IMO beer drinkers are becoming more sophisiticated but OctoberFest is not keeping pace (yes I've been hit in the head by the flying pennies...but still). Choices at OF are still fairly limited even though other Tulsa  beer garden type events are gaining in popularity.

You make a good point.  Basically anything at Octoberfest is at Fassler Hall or McNellie's now.  It isn't anything special to get that beer on draft any more.  I understand why they think the no pitchers is a good idea.  Basically if you are pretty trashed and your last purchased drink is a pitcher or a 16 oz more than likely you will drink it.  So people that should have quit one drink before are drinking a whole pitcher instead of 16 oz.  Its the LAST pitcher that is the problem not the first.  So stopping pitchers at a certain time of the night would cover everybodies interests.

[carltonplace]

Whatever it is he should never be elected.

He is devious enough to be a good politician. I bet he could "out-Sally" Ms Kern.  Just the kind of politician Okies like.

[Cats Cats Cats]

So according to people who know things about liqour.  There is a law that states that a person can only purchase 2 drinks at a time of strong beer.  So technically I think they have been breaking the law in the past.  Its supposed to be the same for bars.  They should only sell you 2 drinks at a time.

On another note.  The last IRS documents vailable for Oktoberfest shows that after their year where they lost $60k they made $303k profit.  It was about 20% profit.  Also the River Parks management change happend over a year ago.

*EDIT* somebody just called ABLE and they said that is how RPA wants to run it this year (no pitchers)