The 53rd Annual Denver Oktoberfest began this past weekend, and I headed down to 21st and Larimer Streets to check it out Sunday afternoon. It was a pretty laid back atmosphere and wasn't nearly as crowded as I thought it would be. There were still a lot of people celebrating with food and beer, but nothing like the atmosphere at the Oktoberfest in Breckenridge that I recently attended. In the background of the photograph on the left, for afternoon entertainment, a stein hoisting contest was going on, and on another corner a keg bowling event was happening, both attracting a modest but enthusiastic crowd.
The Ballpark Neighborhood, where the festival takes place, is where the Denver party crowd hangs out, and so I suspect the laid back vibe on Sunday was due to the fact that those partiers don't tend to show up at these events until the P.M. Especially this year, since they are selling VIP Oktoberfest tickets featuring unlimited beer and wine, which to me sounds pretty scary. A lot of this "hipster" crowd can be pretty obnoxious on normal weekend evenings, and so I shudder to think what it will be like this coming Friday and Saturday nights during the 2nd and final weekend of the festival. My recommendation is to go in the afternoon if you crave a "Diablo Dog," and get the hell out of there by dusk.
Next weekend will be the Colorado Rockies final home stand of the season, and the team is about to make history, losing over 100 games for the first time ever. Since Coors Field is just a few blocks away, as seen in the background of the photograph on the left, perhaps the Sunday afternoon crowd will mark the last game of the season and this historic milestone at Oktoberfest. It seems a very appropriate way to celebrate a very bad baseball team. But the ballpark is still nice, so what the hell, right?
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