Left Hand Valley Courier - All Local, All The Time

The Rotary Club of Niwot is bringing it’s Oktoberfest fundraiser back to Niwot for its eighth year. The event, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., is one of the biggest fundraisers the club puts on each year.

“It gets more popular every year,” Niwot Rotary Club member Margaret Hix said. “I think more and more people are [attending], and it’s now become a community event. People come over, they stay, they hang out, they have a great time.”

The event will feature the same German band as last year, Camillo de Salles, which plays authentic German music to dance to later into the evening.

German food from schnitzel to kraut burgers and bratwurst to pretzels, from various vendors such as Niwot Market and Abo’s Pizza, will be on the menu. Chuburger and Subway will also be serving hamburgers, french fries and sandwiches.

Hix said the event is “a great day for families, although there is definitely beer drinking going on.” Local breweries including Left Hand Brewing, Bootstrap Brewery, Powder Keg, West Flanders and Wibby Brewing will be serving beer, making the event a great way for community members to support local businesses.

“All proceeds that are raised go towards some of our projects we have going right now,” Hix explained. “Our water project in Nepal, youth exchange, youth education, Niwot Children’s Park, Jazz on 2nd Ave festival, and more.”

Hix added, “We need all the support [and] all the people we can get. It’s very expensive. It costs us over $20,000 to put this event on. This year I’m really nervous [about the turnout] because Boulder has decided to do it’s Oktoberfest the same weekend. We’ve never had anybody’s Oktoberfest fall on ours before.”

While the club does have some sponsors, Hix said it’s not anywhere near the amount needed to cover costs. There is raffle for a scooter during the event, at $10 per ticket, which helps raise some extra money.

“We pay dues and our dues cover our administrative fees. So every dollar we raise goes towards one of our projects,” she said.

The bottom line is that the club needs to cover its expenses, leaving whatever funds are left over for its projects.

“I’m nervous every year if we have bad weather or if we don’t have a good turnout,” she said. “Anything can happen and we’d be stuck. We commit to our projects based on what we budget for. So we know we have to have that $10,000 or else we can’t host a youth exchange student, it’s just too costly. There [are] just certain projects we couldn’t do if we didn’t have this fundraiser.”

She encourages everyone to use alternate modes of transportation since parking is limited. She hopes people living nearby will either ride their bikes or use the Subie Do pedicab service, which was available during the Rock & Rails summer concert series this year. “If people want, they can call them ahead of time and schedule a ride to and from their home,” Hix said of the free pedicab service.

With all the music, beer, food and children’s activities, such as pumpkin and face painting and children’s games, Hix hopes the whole family comes out for a fun way to kick off the fall season.

“Come on out, have a great time,” Hix said of the free event. “Bring the kids, bring the family old and young. It’s a great fall festival.”

For more information on Oktoberfest or to volunteer, visit Niwotrotary.org/oktoberfest or call Scott Stockert at 303-579-7448.