Oktoberfest 2008 has come and gone--in Germany at least--but the memories will live on forever. Thankfully, the vomit is easy enough to wash away.
This is a video from inside the Hofbrau tent at the storied Oktoberfest fair grounds in Munich. You can watch "Beer Fest" as many times as you like but nothing, we repeat, nothing can prepare you for the real Oktoberfest.
So to make it easier, we've put together this handy list of rules and tips to remember for Oktoberfest 2009.
While the attraction for most ale-heads at this weekend's Great American Beer Festival was the 1,800-plus brew list, the festival's not just about getting sloshed: There are also a bevy of awards handed out, and they can reap serious dividends for small breweries.
The prestigious awards span 75 categories, from best fruit or vegetable beer to best coffee flavored beer. The big winner this year: Oregon's hop-heavy breweries, who walked across the podium in Denver again and again. The Beaver State beat out almost all of its larger competitors by taking home nine gold medals and 19 overall.
For those looking to get a taste of just what these Oregonian brewers have going on, the state's Fresh Hop Beer Tastivals offer a chance, coming up in Portland on October 18 and in Eugene on October 25.
Fall is harvest time in America's farmland, and, if you look closely enough, in the cities too. Brooklyn, which probably isn't the first place that comes to mind when you think "harvest," has a fall food festival of its own this weekend.
The Gowanus Harvest Festival will bring locally-grown veggies, potato sack races, pony rides and other down-home excitement to the banks of the (not-so) scenic Gowanus Canal. Of course, this is still Brooklyn, so there will be live indie rock and local microwbrews on hand as well. Obviously.
The festival, which takes place Saturday, October 11, will be held at outdoor performance space The Yard.
If you love jazz but prefer sandy tropical beaches to smoky underground clubs, pack your bags for Anguilla's Tranquility Jazz Festival, celebrating its sixth year and taking place November 6-9 on the island.
Venues like the Cuisinart Hotel, Temenos Golf Club and Johnnos will host performances by jazz greats such as Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Arturo Sandoval and Christian Scott by day and by night.
Individual performance tickets range between free and $50, but check here for festival-specific travel packages that include airfare on American Airlines, performance tickets and a range of hotel options.
No longer shall you order a Mexican dish topped with mole sauce--a concoction of unsweetened cocoa and chilies, among other things--because it's cool to say. After a visit to the Atocpan Feria del Mole, which starts this Saturday in the Mexican town of San Pedro Atocpan, you'll be a mole expert worthy of pushing back your plate from Don Loco's and saying, "Pfft. This isn't real mole."
South of Mexico City, many people work in "mole mills" that prepare the famously complex sauce--in fact, an article in the local newspaper La Jornada estimated that 92 percent of San Pedro Atocpan's residents are involved in some way with producing or selling mole. Since most of their product is consumed in and around the Distrito Federal, it's rare for any "real" mole to trickle northward.
San Pedro Atocpan is only one of several cities laying claim to the title "birthplace of mole." (The Times awarded the title to Puebla two years ago.) After you've tasted the many varieties of mole infused with cinnamon, cilantro or raisins, check out the work of local artisans--and by then it'll be time to eat more mole.
New York is always the world's hub of hip-hop, as well as its capital of theater, but once a year, the best of both worlds fuse together in an unlikely pairing: The Hip-Hop Theater Festival.
Running now through October 11, the HHTF presents spoken word, drama, dance, rapping, singing and other performances that embrace the hip-hop aesthetic. If you want theater to be just a little less snobby--or hip-hop to get a little bit more intellectual--this one's for you. The highlight of this year's festival is Taking Over: The All City Tour, a new play from festival founder Danny Hoch.
The festival is taking over venues throughout four boroughs (sorry, Staten Island!), and many performances are free. But that doesn't mean you can just show up--the free events are ticketed and usually "sold" out--check out the HHTF website to reserve seats.
There's a lot going on this fall in Virginia, mostly because these four will be battling each other there. But if you're looking for something with a little more culture, look no further than the Williamsburg Scottish Festival, complete with more kilts, clans and Celtic music than you can shake a caber at.
The fest starts October 3 and carries on through the weekend. Celtic bands including Albannach and Greenwich Meantime (clever!) will ensure that you get your fill of bagpipe. And of course there will be traditional athletic events that involve people throwing really heavy things as far as they can.
The festival also seeks to assist people in tracing their Scottish roots. Take a trip down "Clan Row" to try to find your link back to the mother country. Last year there were almost 50 groups from across the nation with their own unique lineage, so you're almost guaranteed to find a picture of Grandpa McManus.
In Cambodia, respect for elders extends beyond holding the door for old ladies. Even the dead get their due during Prachum Benda, also called Ancestors' Day or Festival of the Dead, which kicked off last weekend. Cambodian Buddhists believe that the deceased stuck in the spirit world need their help so families deliver food to monks in an attempt to reach the souls of their ancestors and friends by virtue of the monks' sermons.
Everything climaxes on the 15th day of the waxing moon during the tenth month of the Khmer calendar, called "Pheaktrobotr." This year, it falls on September 30.
Metropolitan Khmers flood out of the capital city of Phnom Penh to spend time with relatives at their homes in the countryside. There, they cook, pray, cook and pray some more. At the end, the hope is that loved ones received the Karmic boost they needed for reincarnation.
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by juliana
