By James Day Six months since its opening on the Kennedy High School campus the new welding room already is producing dividends. Fundraising for the facility, which opened at the beginning of the school year, has reached $145,000, said John Gooley, the Mt. Angel Community Foundation vice-president and Withers Lumber executive who led the campaign. The additional funds (the facility […]
By Stephen Floyd Mount Angel Mayor Pete Wall highlighted public infrastructure needs in his State of the City Address Jan. 2 before the Mount Angel City Council. Wall said the city must position itself to tackle multiple priorities, chief among them the wastewater, storm drainage, transportation and parks systems. As an initial step the council has scheduled a work session […]
By Stephen Floyd Halloween has become a lot more fun this year for one family in Mount Angel. Emily and Greg Sisk were already prepared to go big after their lederhosen-themed skeletons got a lot of attention in 2022. Little did they know their efforts would be viewed by more than 1 million people online and touch the lives of […]
By Stephen Floyd A familiar venue will have a new feel this Oktoberfest in Mount Angel after Scott and Kristi Stokley moved Lou’s Kitchen beneath the glockenspiel in the Edelweiss Village Building. The iconic clocktower stands in the center of town on E. Charles Street, with wooden figures revolving four times daily. The venue beneath once housed The Glockenspiel Restaurant […]
By Melissa Wagoner This year the organizers of Mount Angel’s Oktoberfest are making it easier than ever to enjoy the festivities while leaving your car safely at home. “It is brand new!” Monica Bochsler, Director of PR and Marketing, said of the latest edition to the festival’s public transportation lineup – a shuttle service provided by Northwest Navigator Luxury Coaches. “I can’t […]
By James Day Kennedy High School in Mount Angel will have a new welding room in the fall, courtesy of a private fundraising campaign led by the Mt. Angel Community Foundation. The project, which broke ground on April 26, is not related to the facilities bond that Mt. Angel School District voters will be voting on in the May 16 […]
By Melissa Wagoner When Scotts Mills Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Community Club (PTCC) heard that the Mt. Angel Chamber of Commerce needed help staffing their annual Oktoberfest booth and that they were willing to share proceeds with any organization that volunteered, they jumped at the chance. “Katie Sommer, PTCC president, volunteered to head this up and find volunteers for two […]
By Stephen Floyd Longtime Oktoberfest board member Dave Kohler has retired from his post after 49 years with the event, though he is expected to remain a familiar face. Kohler spent 25 years on the board, in addition to 15 years volunteering for Oktoberfest directly and another nine supporting the event through the Letterman Club at Kennedy High School. Oktoberfest […]
The party before the party – Oktoberfest Kickoff – will be held at the Mt. Angel Festhalle and Biergarten Sept. 10. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and at 7 p.m. the Gervais Knights of Columbus will serve a barbeque chicken dinner for all ticket holders. The $40 ticket includes dinner, beverages (beer, wine, cider and Pepsi products) and entertainment by […]
The Mt. Angel Chamber of Commerce has awarded its Junior First Citizen Award and the Maureen Ernst Memorial Scholarship to John F. Kennedy High School seniors Lydia Berning and Spencer Bizon, respectively. The students were surprised at the high school by their parents and chamber leaders. The awards included $2,000 toward each student’s education. Berning and Bizon said they hope […]
By Daniele Keating Mt. Angel Chamber of Commerce Past President Pete Wall selected Oktoberfest to receive the 2018 President’s Award for its tremendous community accomplishments and charitable contributions. Inaugurated in 2014, the President’s Award recognizes those who do a great service to the community or the Chamber. This year is the first time an organization has been selected for the […]
From the Harvest Monument gracing the center square to the Bavarian-themed food booths to the music and dancing, German traditions can be found throughout Mount Angel’s Oktoberfest. Celebrating its 51st anniversary, the festival runs Sept. 15-19. Whether you like to dance, eat or explore, there’s something for everyone at this festival. Here are a few traditions to share. The tradition […]
By Kristine Thomas Gemutlichkeit. It’s a German word that is a little challenging to pronounce, yet it precisely describes Mount Angel’s Oktoberfest. Gemutlichkeit is about people laughing as they perform the “Chicken Dance,” or greeting friends working at one of the more than 50 Alpine Chalet food booths. It describes the joy of the dancers performing the Maypole, the excitement […]
Math fact OK, we all know if you subtract 1966 from 2015, you get 49. So why, some ask, is this the 50th celebration of Oktoberfest? Well, this isn’t a birthday. The first festival was “1” and if you count you’ll find this is the 50th time Mount Angel has held an Oktoberfest celebration. Oktoberfest in September? Even in Munich, […]
By Kristine Thomas Twenty-five years of teaching the maypole and other traditional German dances has taught Nann Fleck, Teresa Bryant and Bev Fleckenstein one thing: the magic will happen. Although it may seem quite impossible on a warm, August evening as they watch preteen girls collide into one another like atoms and trip through steps like nervous bridesmaids, they learn […]
Mount Angel Oktoberfest ‘Share Our Bavarian Hospitality’ Sept. 12, 13, 14, 15 Thursday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – midnight Sunday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. oktoberfest.org for schedule of events By Kristine Thomas Sneak a peak at a neighbor’s garden and you may discover plump, red tomatoes; corn and sunflowers taller than a NBA player; abundant zucchini or pumpkins the […]
Mount Angel Oktoberfest was judged by the Oregon Festivals and Events Association as the state’s Best Festival or Event with a Budget Over $150,000 or more than 40,000 Attendees. The award was presented to Oktoberfest at the association’s annual conference in Seaside in March. The community of Mount Angel invited everyone to “Come join the Harvest Dance” in 2012 and […]
By Brenna Wiegand He’s amiable, driven – and a little dangerous. Not long into a conversation, he has you thinking about signing up as a volunteer for Mount Angel’s Oktoberfest. That’s John Gooley, Mount Angel’s 2012 First Citizen. Gooley and fellow community award recipients will be honored at Feb. 25 at the Mount Angel Festhalle. Gooley’s decades of tireless volunteerism […]
Neil Jorgenson has cleaned sauerkraut off Mount Angel streets at 4:30 a.m. Bill Bischoff has spent hours juggling the complaints and concerns of vendors and Mount Angel citizens. Dick Fennimore has emptied seemingly endless lines of trash receptacles and picked up cigarette butts for days on end.
Jerry Lauzon, known far and wide as “Mr. Oktoberfest,” is retiring from the Mount Angel Oktoberfest Board of Directors effective Jan. 26. Of Lauzon’s 20 years on the Oktoberfest board, he spent eight as president.
Ever since Ransom E. Olds began building cars on production lines and Henry Ford improved upon the efficiency of the production line, people have revved their affection for cars by attending auto shows. Thousands of attendees embraced the Chicago Auto Show of 1901 and from that day forward long lines have snaked up to the doors to see the gleaming new cars at auto shows all across the country.
The new Mount Angel Festhalle opened for business in a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 9 that drew hundreds of people to view the spacious, modern building. As architect Victor Madge put it, “It will just get better and better…”
Cleveland Street in Mount Angel will be paved in time for Oktoberfest. The Mount Angel City Council voted Aug. 1 to contribute $6,000 to the project with property owners on the street and Oktoberfest contributing the remainder of the $35,115 price of the paving the road plagued with potholes and dust.
Oktoberfest visitors will be celebrating in a new building in a familiar location come September. The new Mount Angel Community Building and Center will be ready to use for Oktoberfest, Oktoberfest President John Gooley said.
Oktoberfest President John Gooley announced the award of $121,925 to 42 non-profit organizations in Mount Angel and surrounding communities as a result of 2010’s successful Oktoberfest.
