- April 25, 2024
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Art and Mary Borman and Michael Bodnyk wear their best lederhosen for Oktoberfest. (Photos by Lesley Dwyer)
Michelle and Richard Loesche set up chairs in the courtyard to enjoy the music.
Larry Sohn enjoying the weather and the band.
Cowbells brought by the band.
The newly renovated dining hall is decorated and ready for Oktoberfest.
Church members Bob Stobaugh and Barbara Teller work the buffet line.
Chris Stobaugh, John Teller, Sandi Love, Barbara Teller and Jane Wittlinger all volunteer at the buffet.
Chris Sturm and Louise Hauser post-feast.
A German band plays in the courtyard of St. Armands Key Lutheran Church on Saturday for Oktoberfest.
Jemma and Jon Patella are all smiles at Oktoberfest.
Diane Garibaldi from St. Louis and Karin Siegfried from Chicago are visiting relatives who belong to the church.
Laurie Merson dressed for the occasion.
Ingrid Messina and Jim Kelleher serving German beer and wine.
Charles Armbrecht, Marcia Eckardt, Chris and Bob Stobaugh take to the courtyard dance floor.
Marcia Eckardt being spun by Charles Armbrecht.
Chris and Bob Stobaugh take a break from buffet service to dance as Dorothy and the Scarecrow.
John Fullam, Lois Robinson Fullam, Janet Mahler, Ed Schaeffer and Robert Rowe.
Prost means cheers in German.
Uta Nieradtke, Diane Jensen and Irene Stankevics.
The band leads the crowd in a toast.
The party was inside and out, taking up the dining hall and courtyard.
St. Armands Key Lutheran Church celebrated Oktoberfest on Saturday with beer, bratwursts and a band.
Renovations to the dining hall were finished just in time to hang blue and white checkered flags and invite the community for a traditional German feast.
“The goal was to have it done for today,” Congregational Council President Steve Gunderson said.
A divider was removed, new flooring was installed and the walls got a fresh coat of paint. Oktoberfest was a great incentive to get the job done on time, or more than 150 people would’ve been disappointed.
Eight extra tables were set up in the dining hall to accommodate walk-ins. There was a bar serving German beer and wine and a buffet of German meats from Geier’s Sausage Kitchen, a Sarasota German meat market and deli.
Dressed in lederhosen, a five-piece band played in the courtyard. Guests danced and swayed their beer bottles back and forth to the music. Minister of Music Michael Bodnyk encouraged a sing-along by printing German to English translations of Oktoberfest classics such as, “The Hofbrauhaus Song.”
This was only the church’s second Oktoberfest, but it’s likely to become an annual event.
“It’s obviously something people love,” Gunderson said. “We’re about twice as big as last year.”
