Oktoberfests!!

JJ: There are several key elements about Autumn that make it my all-time favorite season: Football, the crispness in the air, the lack of annoying insects, the changing of the leaves, and of course, socially sanctioned bouts of public drunkenness for a charitable cause.
Welcome to Oktoberfest!
Charlotte saw it’s Oktoberfest a wee bit early, say September 30th, but it was well received none the less. This year it was held at Memorial Stadium on the community college campus as it had outgrown its previous home of my neighborhood, NoDa. So imagine a football field ringed with over 100 beer vendors from all over the country, each with multiple products, all for you to sample in a commemorative 6oz glass, for a single ticket charge on a cloudless Autumn day under the Charlotte skyline. Throw in a couple of bands, several thousand happy people, and having the regional Heineken distributor as a good friend who got you and several friends VIP passes which let you basically go and do whatever you wanted.
Say it with me: Sweeeeeeeet.
All the proceeds went to the MS Society and as they sold out the event, they raised a good chunk of change.
In turn, Knoxville, TN had their Brewer’s Jam on the 14th and it was very similar so I’m guessing the venue was the same group. I believe there were 50 vendors or so and I don’t think I ever saw the estimated number of products… The Brewer’s Jam was raising money for Community Share and I know they had to put together a good bit of money as well. They had more regional brewers then Charlotte and about half the over all vendors, but it was also under a cloudless blue Autumn sky and everyone seemed to have a great time.
We were better prepared for the TN version as it wasn’t quite the bombardment on the senses as the Charlotte event was.
There were some definite differences between the two events but they were both great fun and Stace and I were in good company. Vive la Fall.