October is one of my favorite months of the year.  This may come as a surprise to some.  I am notorious for always being cold.  I live under a blanket 365 days a year and absolutely love Snuggies!  But, October brings out the best in the Fredericksburg area.  There are so many things to do!  Thus far this month we have had the Virginia State Fair and Capital Ale House Oktoberfest.  As if that wasn’t enough, there are two other annual events open this weekend. 

First, Halloween is just around the corner.  Are you ready to be scared… while helping raise money for a good cause?  The Fredericksburg Jaycees are holding their annual Haunted House.  The event runs every Friday and Saturday night October 9-October 31.  The Haunted House opens at 7pm and closes when everyone is scared to death!  This year the Haunted House is located at the old Bogey’s in Central Park.  The address is 1380 Central Park Blvd Suite 101 (beside the old Ice Park).   Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for children under 12.  Money raised by this event goes to help fund Camp Virginia Jaycees, a summer camp open to individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities of children age 7 thru adults. 

Second, the Maize Maze is back and as fabulous as ever!  This year Belvedere Plantation’s Fall Festival is featuring the traditional Maize Maze, hayrides and bonfires, pig races, Ye Old Barnyard – a farm animal petting zoo, and the Pumpkin Mountain slide.  There are activities for kids of all ages; no one will be left out!  Don’t forget to stop by the plantation market for pies, jams and jellies, and candies.  And I hope you’ve been getting prepared for the All-You-Can-Carry Pumpkin Challenge for $26.99.  The Fall Festival is open weekends September 27 – October 31.    Hours of operation are:  Friday and Saturday evenings 5-10pm (Pumpkin Patch lighted for night picking!), Saturdays 10am-10pm, Sundays 10am-6pm, and Columbus Day (Monday) 10am-6pm.  Admission is  $15 a person with discount offered to Senior Citizens, police, fire, rescue, and the Armed Forces.  Coupons can be found at local merchants, the Free Lance Star, and by bringing a non-perishable item to be donated to the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank.  Please click here for more information.

Capital Ale House of Fredericksburg held their first Oktoberfest last Saturday, October 3, and it was a success!  Capacity crowds were reached by about 1pm causing a bit of a line to form outside the picket fence around the event.  As people left, new Oktoberfest attendees were allowed in.  The free beer steins were available until about 8pm.  (I’m actually surprised they lasted that long!)  Three types of German beer were served, Lager, Hefenweiser, and an Oktoberfest special brew.  The Lager was the most popular selection and the Lager kegs ran dry around 9pm.  Capital Ale House served their entire beer menu inside the restaurant during the event.  For $8 or $14 you could choose from a selection of German dishes.  The weather was great, the beer was great, the food was great, and the atmosphere was fantastic!  

 

The overall feeling of the crowd was that Oktoberfest was an event they would like to see get bigger and incorporate more downtown merchants.  From what I could see, far more people ventured into downtown Fredericksburg throughout the day and into the night than usual.  Many of the other local restaurants benefited from the overflow crowds of the event.  Basil’s, located a few doors down from Capital Ale House, remained busy the entire event.  My group ventured up to Castiglia’s for lunch, a few blocks south of Capital Ale House.  The majority of the lunch goers at Castiglia’s had their Capital Ale House beer steins with them.  Spirit’s Bar and Grill even filled the Oktoberfest beer steins for a reduced rate! 

I was out of town this weekend so I did not get to to visit the Capital Ale House Oktoberfest held in downtown Fredericksburg on Saturday. (I attended the World Beer Festival in Durham, NC. More on that later.) However, the Free Lance-Star was on hand to report on the festivities.

The 900 block of Caroline Street was closed to vehicle traffic for the day, and pedestrians took over. Sidewalks remained open, but the pavement became a beer garden at noon. The area reached its 1,200-person capacity by 1 p.m.

"There are many more people than we expected," Matthew Simmons, Capital Ale House president, said.

It sounds as if the event was a rousing success. I certainly look forward to seeing more events like this in Fredericksburg.

Read "Huge crowds on tap for Oktoberfest" for the complete article and pictures.

This weekend you'll have several opportunities to try some Blue & Gray beers around Fredericksburg. The brewery will be pouring samples and selling beer by the glass at the Fredericksburg Area Wine Festival all weekend. That's right, beer at the wine festival!! They've done this in the past and it's great to see Blue & Gray invited back.

On Saturday, from 11:00AM - 4:00PM. Blue & Gray representatives will be pouring free samples at the new Wegmans on Carl D. Silver Pkwy. Stop by and show your support. Also, on Saturday, there are the usual free tours and tastings at the brewery.

So even if you're stuck shopping this weekend, it will be easy to squeeze in a bit of good beer.

A couple of weeks ago I commented on the number of beer festivals occurring this weekend. But wait, it gets even better! I overlooked a few other local beer events also taking place at the same time.

Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, VA is having their Oktoberfest Celebration October 1-4, at the brewery. They are having "Steal the Stein" day on Thursday as well as debuting Humpbock Oktoberfest Lager. Live music and specials continue all weekend.

Fort Belvoir us holding its 14th Annual Oktoberfest October 1-4 as well. The event is held on the base but is open to the public.

As mentioned previously, Capital Ale House continues their Oktoberfest celebration with a block party in downtown Fredericksburg on Saturday, October 3.

The 10th annual Mid-Atlantic Oktoberfest, sponsored by Capitol City Brewing also takes place on Saturday in Shirlington, VA

Me? I'll be in Durham, NC to attend the World Beer Festival sponsored by All About Beer Magazine. We'll be arriving in Durham Friday evening and look forward to taking in some local beer stops. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

No matter where you are in Virginia, there's a beer festival near you this weekend. Get out and enjoy it!

As many of you already know, I am a huge fan of any type of Fair.  It doesn’t really matter what type of Fair it is, small town Fair, County Fair, State Fair; I like them all.  I’m not quite sure what it is, maybe it’s the people-watching, maybe it’s the food, maybe it’s the pig races.  Regardless, if there is a Fair nearby, my husband and I make sure to attend. 

2009 is a new beginning for the Virginia State Fair.  For years the Fair has been located at the Richmond Speedway.  This year it has moved to its new home in Caroline County, near King’s Dominion.  The grounds are actually quite nice.  You can definitely tell it’s the Fair’s first year here though. 

We love the new location!  Meadow Event Park is only about 20 minutes north from the previous location.  Moving the venue definitely made it easier for Northern Virginia residents to access it.  There is ample parking and they seem to have quite a few trolleys taking people from the parking lot to the Fair grounds.  They built an underpass so Fair attendees don’t have to deal with the road leading into the Fair once they have parked. 

Paying for our tickets and actually being admitted was an ordeal.  If you go after 5pm there is a reduced rate, which is great.   But, if you’ve been waiting at the gate for 10 minutes and it’s 5 o’clock and they’re still not selling tickets or letting anyone in, that’s annoying.  The staff person taking our tickets was rude.  Very rude.   She could have been having a bad day, but it wasn’t the greatest first impression.  I also had my camera bag ripped away from me when I entered, so they could search it.  I have no problem with them searching my bag.  I do not like it being ripped away with no warning from a guy with no clear identification that he worked for the Fair.  The other Fair workers were very friendly and helpful.  Most seemed to enjoy their jobs and were delighted to interact with us.

The food was fantastic, well, almost all of the food.  The first thing we did was head straight for the turkey legs.  Moist and juicy and absolutely delectable!  Next up was sausage hoagies, corn dogs, and onion rings.  The corn dog was delicious and my husband seemed to enjoy the sausage hoagie, but the onion rings were on the bland, dry side.  My husband also enjoyed a funnel cake.  I’m not a funnel cake fan, so I passed on that one.  On our way out we grabbed some kettle corn and have been enjoying it the last 2 days. 

The layout of the Fair is pretty good.  They have a food section, but also have food booths throughout.  The Midway is separated which could make it more pleasant for Fair-goers not interested in going near the rides.  The animals are on the far end of the Fair.  The craft section is in the middle.  They have a Heritage section on the end opposite the animals, which was closed by the time we got there. 

I will definitely be going back to the Virginia State Fair.  It is still going through some growing pains, but that should iron out in the next few years.  It will be a fantastic Fair once the permanent structures are in place and people get used to the new location.  I highly recommend going to the Lumberjack Show and the Pig Races!  I mean, how can you go to the Fair and NOT attend the Pig Races!?! 

If you have attended the Fair this year, I would love for you to leave comments about your experience!

What's wrong with this picture?

October 3, 2009, Durham, NC:
14th World Beer Festival Durham

October 3, 2009, Fredericksburg, VA:
7th Annual Capital Ale House Oktoberfest

October 3, 2009, Shirlington, VA:
10th annual Mid-Atlantic Oktoberfest

That's right, they are all on October 3. I'll be attending the World Beer Festival in Durham. That's a "guys' weekend" for me and some buddies. So that eliminates the options to attend the other two. I hope all you local beer fans will come out and support the Capital Ale House Oktoberfest. There's been some local opposition, so come out and show the downtown merchants you support these types of events. I suppose in theory, it might be possible to hit both the Fredericksburg and Northern Virginia events the same day. Theoretical, not practical. What's a beer lover to do? Be happy that there are so many options, that's what!

If you are so inclined, the Fredericksburg Wine Festival is also taking place that weekend.

This post has nothing to do with beer, though it's of great significance. Today, September 15, Colleen and I celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary.

To my beautiful wife, you are the love of my life. I thank God every day for all the blessings you bring to our family.

Here's to another 25 years!

An Oktoberfest block party will be held in downtown Fredericksburg on Saturday, October 3 with German food, music and dancing evocative of the 16-day festival held in Munich each year. The Fredericksburg Capital Ale House will host the street party in the 900 block of Caroline Street. The events begin at 12 noon with the traditional tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer. The festivities continue through the afternoon and evening with children’s activities, German and polka music, dancing and the food of Germany.

Schedule of Events:
12 noon - Ceremonial tapping of the First keg of Oktoberfest beer
12 noon to 10 p.m. - The SGTEV Hirhsjager Dancers
1 to 3 p.m. - Children’s balloon twister
12 noon to 3:30 p.m. - The Continentals (German and polka music)
4 to 6 p.m. - Die Dorf Musikanten (German traditional music)
4 to 6 p.m. - Children’s balloon twister
6 to 10 p.m. - The Continentals (German and polka music)
9:45 p.m. - Closing Ceremony and on-stage drawing for a trip for two to the Munich Oktoberfest 2010.

Each guest of legal drinking age will receive a complimentary one-liter Capital Ale House stein upon entry. Families are welcome however anyone under age 21 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. There is no cover charge.

In addition to the Fredericksburg celebration, other Capital Ale House locations are holding Octoberfest events as well; September 18th & 19th at the downtown Richmond and Midlothian locations, and September 25th & 26th at the Innsbrook location.

Local bloggers are coming to the rescue of local politics again this year in the form of the Bloggers Forum 09. Yours truly is one of several panel members participating in this event to showcase those running for Stafford and Spotsylvania VA superrvisor positions. For more info, click the banner to the right of the website, or go directly to http://www.bloggersforum09.com

As the date approaches, expect to see more info about who the panel is, what questions might be asked, and a final forum format.

save the date: Sep30th at Mountain View HS in Stafford.