Oktoberfest is coming to the Sea to Sky in a novel form.
Arts Whistler is prepared to unveil “Artstoberfest”: a kaleidoscopic blend of Bavarian tradition and local creative spirit. The Maury Young Arts Centre will function as a hearty beer hall come Oct. 5, with top-flight beverages from Coast Mountain Brewing married with bratwursts and barbecue from meat producer Bacon Eh. Non-alcoholic options are available as well.
While guests drink and dine, Thomas Studer’s polka-style band will bring the dance floor to life with their infectious, upbeat swing music. Folks in the mood for a more laid-back option can watch ceramic artist Ruby Bryan paint a one-of-a-kind Artstoberfest beer stein in real time. Raffle tickets to win said stein cost $10, with proceeds going toward arts and culture programming in the Sea to Sky.
Rounding out the night will be various classic Oktoberfest activities, like prizes for best-dressed. The recurring Teeny Tiny Show will serve as a decorative backdrop, featuring meticulously-crafted 3x3-inch pieces by more than 150 artists.
“It’s a super fun Oktoberfest with an awesome injection of arts, just putting a spin on a great seasonal event,” says Arts Whistler executive director Mo Douglas. “There’s participation elements and observation elements. We love bringing people into the Maury Young to do things that really allow the community to get together and have a lot of fun. It’s a different experience than being in the bars.
“We ask ourselves [at Arts Whistler]: how do we help diversify what happens in the resort? It might be a total arts focus, like Art on the Lake, or it might be inserting the arts into something else. It's fun to test our own creativity and then be able to share it with the community."
'A different side of Whistler'
Artstoberfest is not to be confused with the recent Whistler Village Beer Festival (WVBF) operated by Gibbons, but it channels some of the same international energy. Whistler's home to a number of Germans and Austrians who historically have strutted around town this month in authentic dirndls and Lederhosen. Expect that demographic to show itself in force once again.
Douglas once served as director of festivals for Tourism Whistler, with eight Oktoberfests on her resumé. She and her team needed to import musicians from Vancouver’s German immigrant community in those days, but local performers like Struder have since become great assets.
This Saturday will include a few bells and whistles even Douglas hasn’t seen before, like a stein-holding competition that’s more than meets the eye.
“They’re fairly big beer steins,” she explains. “In this case, we’re going to fill them with water. The competitors literally just have to stand there with their arms straight out and hold them for as long as they can, which sounds awfully simple but apparently it’s incredibly hard. I also think their friends may be attempting to make them laugh.”
And while the WVBF marked an unofficial end to summer, Artstoberfest promises to be a memorable gateway to fall.
“It gets a bit quieter [this time of year], which does allow the local community to breathe a little bit and take in these kinds of things,” says Douglas. “It also provides some great engagement for visitors who happen to be here this weekend. Some may come purposefully, but some just sort of discover [a new event] and they feel really lucky. It’s almost like they got a secret pass. They’ll come up and say they feel like they got to see a different side of Whistler.”
Fortunately, Artstoberfest tickets are not a secret. They are priced at $35 and each include one beer, one sausage and a limited-edition koozie. The night itself will run from 6 to 9 p.m., and more details are viewable at artswhistler.com/artstoberfest.
