Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in one of the best traditions in the Queen City (that’s right Charlotte). From Friday to Sunday the city is packed with over 650,000 visitors who eat over 80,000 brats and drink 2,000+ barrels of beer. This is also the first time that FC Cincinnati and the German heritage festival overlap. Last week, FC Cincinnati was named the Grand Marshall for the 2016 version of USA’s #1 Oktoberfest and I hope many fans will be able to enjoy both events on Saturday.
We at Cincinnati Soccer Talk have put together a little guide for our readers on how to best enjoy this weekend’s festivities. The activities below are just suggestions, none of which are sponsors of the site.
Saturday
10 AM – RHINEHAUS – Join many local soccer fans at Rhinehaus OTR on Saturday morning and kick off the day watching your favorite European clubs. Cincinnati Gooners will also be hosting Ohio Goonerfest, so if you are an Arsenal fan, you have no excuse to miss this.
NOON – CB CONNECTOR/STREETCAR – The local festival has a new location near the downtown riverfront on Second & Third Streets between Walnut & Elm. Hop on the CB CONNECTOR/Streetcar at Stop #15/Central Parkway. The connector will take you down to stop #1/The Banks where you can jump off and get your favorite German food & beer.
1 P.M. – SCHMIDT’S SAUSAGE HAUS of GERMAN VILLAGE – Shameless plug for my favorite food stall down at Oktoberfest. I remember getting Bahama Mama’s, Cream Puffs and German Potato Salad as a kid from Schmidts. They used to be located in fron of Taft Theater, but are now located at booth #215 in between Race & Vine on Third Street.
Other Good Eats:
– Busken Bakery: Grilled Cheese Goetta Donut
– Germania Schnitzel Haus: Mock Turtle Soup
– Mecklenburg Gardens: Sauerkraut Balls
3:30 P.M. – CB CONNECTOR/STREETCAR – Time to make your way back to Clifton! Hop on Stop #1/The Banks and take the connector all the way to Stop #11/Brewery District/Rhinegeist. From there you can walk, bus or cab your way up to your favorite FC Cincinnati bar. See the list below for Clifton locations.
4 P.M. – PREGAME WITH SUPPORTERS – As a fan, you need to experience this at least once. Die Innenstadt hosts their pregame event at Mecklenburg Gardens and The Pride hosts theirs at the Brass Tap. Brass Tap is a little over a mile walk from Stop #11, with Mecklenburg Gardens approx. 1.5 miles. This is a perfect chance to walk off the Goetta Donut.
APPROX. 5:30 P.M. – MARCH WITH SUPPORTERS – The supporters groups will get hyped and march from their respective bars around this time. Sometimes before or later. This all culminates around the Southern end of the stadium where the SG’s do a united march down the concourse of Nippert.
7 P.M. – GAMETIME – Join over 20,000 of your best friends as we cheer on FC Cincinnati! HUGE playoff implications ride on this game. Seeding and a home playoff game could be secured following Saturday’s result.
We're a little under 90 minutes from tonight's kickoff, but we've got a little news for Saturday's #CINvORL match… pic.twitter.com/jdJ4vJZMfN
— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) September 14, 2016
9 P.M. – OKTOBERFEST Part Zwei – Return back to Second and Third Streets to enjoy live music, great beer and to hopefully celebrate a big FC Cincinnati Win
Sunday
If you made it through Saturday, rally and get back down to Oktoberfest!
4:30 P.M. – CHICKEN DANCE – Join Grand Marshals FC Cincinnati at the Main Stage at Second and Elm for the World’s Largest Chicken Dance! Team President & General Manager Jeff Berding along with players and Staff will lead the city in the most notable tradition of the festival. Don’t miss out on the Vogeltanz (Chicken Dance).
That's going to be a packed stage for the World's Largest Chicken Dance at #OktoberfestZinzinnati. @WCPO pic.twitter.com/yEHXhJz2Kh
— Brian Mains (@BrianDMains) September 8, 2016
SUPPORTERS GROUPS
The supporters groups will be taking up residence at their favorite pre-match locations before kickoff. See the list below for more information.
Die Innenstadt: Mecklenburg Gardens – 302 E University Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45219
The Pride: The Brass Tap – 251 Calhoun St, Cincinnati, OH 45219
Lowen de Sudens: Barleycorn’s – 1073 Industrial Rd, Cold Spring, KY 41076
Queen City Firm: Mio’s Pizzeria Pub – 2634 Vine St, Cincinnati, OH 45219
Queen City Mafia: Adriatico’s Parking Lot Tailgate – 113 W McMillan St, Cincinnati, OH 45219
CST Player of the Year Award
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@bryanjweigel for @cincysoccertalk
Photo Courtesy: Alex Vehr
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