St. Mary's Oktoberfest entertains large crowds Friday night through Sunday

The raindrops stopped falling and a large opening crowd turned out for St. Mary’s Oktoberfest Friday through Sunday.

Carolyn Simansky, spokesperson for the Oktoberfest, said organizers were extremely satisfied with opening night and the rest of the weekend.

Simansky added that there were “great crowds” Friday, Saturday and Sunday and everything went well.

“The weather was perfect fall weather,” she said. “We had great crowds all weekend.”

Sunday’s entertainment included the following bands: Big Shake Daddies, St. Louis Czech Express, The Harman Family Band, and Back in the Saddle.

The Glendale Riders kicked off the entertainment acts on Friday night as usual, and as always, moved the crowd. The Glendale Riders have been an Oktoberfest fixture since it started.

“A lot of people came down to see them,” Simansky said. “They are a really great band.” The Glendale Riders participated in an auction for a 90-minute performance and the crowd was excited about that.

Despite the bad weather predicted for Thursday and Friday, Simansky said she and the other organizers knew it would work out for the weekend.

“We weren’t too worried, we knew it would work out,” she said. “We worked hard getting things ready and all of us were praying hard and it worked out.”

Large 33-foot television screens available for those in attendance to watch the Major League playoffs.

Through Sunday night, the entire Oktoberfest activities were open, including kids rides.

On Sunday, an 11 a.m. Mass in the Grass was held at Garfield Park. Also, Sunday's activities included a live auction and announcement of sweepstakes winners.

Several former priests were in attendance over the weekend at the Oktoberfest including Shawn Monahan and Chris Uhl.

The event is the major fund-raising activity for St. Mary’s church and school through the entire year.

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