The Munich beer festival kicked off Saturday with millions of visitors from around the world expected to raise a glass or two to celebrate the event’s 200th birthday over the next 17 days.

Munich’s mayor Christian Ude was to launch the German extravaganza that is “Oktoberfest” by “tapping”, or opening up, the first beer barrel on the stroke of midday (local time), following a tradition begun in 1810.

As a nod to the historic nature of this year’s event, billed as the world’s biggest people’s party, the festival has been extended by two days and expanded to include special grounds for horse races and exhibitions.

A historic reconstruction of the Bavarian festival in former centuries including an old Oktoberfest tent also aimed to pull in the punters, especially younger visitors less interested in the beer fest’s main draw.

For those who come for the amber nectar, however, six of the southern city’s breweries have set aside their usual rivalry to brew jointly an ale from a prized recipe dating back to the festival’s beginnings.

The city hopes this year to break both its visitor record of 7.1 million and that revellers will do their utmost to break the record of 6.9 million litres of beer downed.

But such historic fun does not come cheap. For the 200th anniversary of the beer festival, the price of a one-litre Mass (“measure”) was upped to a sobering cost of between 8.30 euros ($A11.54) and 8.90 euros ($A12.35).

And for the first time, smokers hoping to enjoy a cigarette with their ale were best advised to leave their packets at home after the state of Bavaria decided to ban smoking across the state in all pubs, cafes and beer tents.

Although the Oktoberfest enjoys a special exception for this year, most beer tents were expected to observe a voluntary ban.

The ban has led one enterprising German to invent a cocktail of microbacteria that “eat” the putrid smell of stale beer and sweat formerly masked by smoke. This was primed to make its debut at this year’s festival.

While this is the 200th anniversary of the beer fest, it is only the 177th edition, as the event was cancelled due to two cholera outbreaks, World War I and II as well as economic and political crises.

The global financial crisis dampened the enthusiasm of revellers last year, with a disappointing 5.7 million visitors coming through the gates amid Germany’s harshest post-war recession.

This year’s jubilee edition runs until October 4.

AFP

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 [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e7te_Uqw0M 331 276]

Pictures of sexy girls kissing in traditional dresses from October Festival in Munich. Bilder von sexy Frauen im Dirndl die sich küssen auf dem Oktoberfest. Fotografia di donne sexy

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It doesn’t get much better than a well planned Oktoberfest party. From its humble start as a wedding party in 1810 Oktoberfest has swept the world to become one of the most recognised party themes. In fact the traditional Bavarian costume of lederhosen and felt hat which has been associated, rightly or wrongly, with the drinking culture of Oktoberfest is now the fastest growing Stag Night themes around.

 The October Festival (translation of Oktoberfest) began with the state fair that was proclaimed to celebrate the wedding of King Ludwig I to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hillurghausen during the October of 1810. The celebrations continued annually and were soon incorporated with the agricultural show held around the same time and from this beginning has grown the Oktoberfest we have today.

Starting during the second week of September and running through to the end of October, Oktoberfest has become an enormous festival with huge tents raised on Theresienwiese field in Munich along with huge fairgrounds with shooting galleries, fairground stalls and side-shows along with all manner of other amusements and activities.

 Simply know to the local population as ‘Wies’n the celebrations commence with a procession of the brewers drays (wagons) which are decorated especially for the occasion and the tapping of the first barrel of the specially brewed Wies’n beer by the Mayor of Munich, a celebration which takes place precisely at midday and which is greeted by a salvo of cannon.

 If you are throwing your own Oktoberfest party then we have a few useful ideas to assist you. First, let’s look for some unusual ideas for your invitations. The most common ‘snack’ food at Oktoberfest is the pretzel and one great idea is to get some large pretzels and either attach an invitation to it, or if they are large enough to be boxed, write the invitation inside of the box lid. To attach an invitation to an individual pretzel the best idea is to use a luggage label or any label that fits with the overall theme. If you are using the luggage label trick, the words ‘let us transport you to ……’ always fit well.

 If you are designing your own invitations, Oktoberfest is always represented in the blue and white chequer board design which is part of the regions identity. This design and these colours would naturally flow through your room or yard decoration and most on-line party stores stock Bavarian themed decorations including flags, Oktoberfest bunting, hangers, beads and other goodies.

One of the fun parts of an Oktoberfest party is the costumes. This is a great opportunity for a themed fancy dress party with both the men and women dressing in stylised Bavarian costumes complete with long plaited wigs – er, for the ladies, and a choice of either the traditional pointed grey felt Bavarian hat or one of the green or brown hats complete with feather, the grander the better! Again, most online costume retailers will be able to offer you a selection of costumes to choose from based around lederhosen for the men and charming Heidi or Bier Maid styled dresses for the ladies.

 Clearly, any Oktoberfest party should have some German beer but if you can’t find any then lager is a perfectly acceptable substitute. With the food, its pure indulgence with traditional foods like, German sausage, potato salad, sauerkraut, sweet or pickled cabbage with scrumptious Black Forest gateaux for dessert. There are some fantastic on-line recipe sites which will give you a selection of food ideas as well as itemising a complete Oktoberfest menu. And don’t forget the pretzels.

 Oktoberfest Party Decorations help you celebrate Oktoberfest when you can’t make the trip to Germany. Host an Oktoberfest Party in your own home with our Oktoberfest party supplies and costumes. We have a large selection of Oktoberfest themed party supplies available from stock and which are sure to make your party a success.

Discover an extensive range of Oktoberfest fancy dress costumes and decoration ideas by selecting the following link and browsing our specially selected Oktoberfest catalog. Browse the section for ideas or use the search feature to find a specific Oktoberfest party item http://www.karnival-house.co.uk/acatalog/Oktoberfest_Fancy_Dress_Costumes.html

 If an Oktoberfest themed party is not what you are looking for, Karnival Costumes is sure to have something just for you. Discover the complete range of themed costumes and for other party ideas when you visit our website, browse our costumes and accessories for as long as you need before making your final selection. Purchase with confidence and security from one of the leading costume suppliers in the UK. Visit our vast array of costumes at; http://www.karnival-house.co.uk

We also have a large selection of articles on a wide range of party themed topics. Why not join our newsletter for up to date information on the latest trends in costumes, news and notification of our special offers?

Article submitted by: KV Sinclair. Keith Sinclair has nearly 40 years of business experience and in addition to being a part time University Lecturer on Business Studies, he is CEO of Karnival House; a group of companies operating in the party sector. Karnival Costumes is part of this group and specialises in fancy dress and fancy dress costume accessories. Karnival Costumes can be found at karnival-house.co.uk and is one of the UK’s fastest growing internet Fancy Dress Retailers. With massive stocks for immediate dispatch and an ever expanding range, Karnival Costumes continues to strive simply to offer outstanding service combined with outstanding value.

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