This past weekend, in addition to attending the Breckenridge Oktoberfest, I attended Oktoberfest celebrations in Denver's Highlands and Platte Park neighborhoods, too. It seems Oktoberfests here in Colorado are multiplying like rabbits. The celebration in the Highlands, one of Denver's oldest neighborhoods, only started last year, and I remember I was not impressed with it. It was far smaller than their annual street festival and lacked both vendors and activities. This year, however, the festival has grown exponentially, and unlike last year, was very well attended, as seen in the photograph on the left. I think the main way people learn about these festivals are the signs promoting it on the street, and so I suppose it took a year for word to spread through the community about it. I myself definitely plan to attend next year, too.
A street sign is how I found out about the Oktoberfest celebration in Denver's Platte Park neighborhood, just to the west of the University of Denver area, where my condo is located. I had lunch last week in that neighborhood at Park Burger on Pearl Street with my friend Peter, who I shared an office with when I worked as the bookkeeper for the Tattered Cover Bookstore, now taken over by Barnes and Noble. When I was leaving the restaurant, I noticed a sign advertising an Oktoberfest celebration that Saturday, and decided to check it out, too. It only occupied a single block, but it was packed with people, as seen in the photograph on the right, and had a surprising number of booths featuring microbreweries. I think the Platte Park Brewing Company, located on that block, had a lot to do with organizing the event, which probably explains all those breweries. It made it almost seem like a beer festival, which, of course, is what Oktoberfest is really all about.
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