Batesville, In. — On Friday, September 14, The Sherman hosted the second annual Oktoberfest in downtown Batesville. About 1200 people participated in the celebration at The Sherman Biergarten, which was expanded to include the adjacent city blocks. German dresses (drindls) of all colors and rugged lederhosen were the dominate attire seen on the streets this evening.
“We had several objectives for this Oktoberfest,” commented owner, Georg Heringer. “Along with creating an exciting community event where neighbor meets neighbor, old friends meet again and new friends are made, we wanted to bring a unique entertainment experience to Batesville by hosting musicians from the region of Bavaria, which is, of course, where Oktoberfest was started in 1810.”
The entertainment program began at 6 pm with 16 musicians direct from Germany. Founded in 1935, the Heuboden Musikanten (Hayloft Musicians) can now add The Sherman to their long list of audiences, which includes the Pope at the Vatican in 2007.
Shortly after 9 pm, the Ripley County mobile stage positioned in the intersection directly in front of the Biergarten was suddenly illuminated as rock ban FIVE Lights filled the streets of downtown Batesville with three hours of dance-rock fun.
German and domestic beer flowed steadily all evening from beer trucks and “bottle beer stations” found on both streets as well as inside the Biergarten at the self-serve window. Off the grill burgers, brats, chicken sandwiches and giant pretzels etc. were available from two street locations and one inside the Biergarten.
Around this back drop down Walnut Street, Kid’s Discovery Factory hosted a variety of activities for kids of all ages including giant chalk drawings and an oversized kaleidoscope.
Batesville Main Street and the Rural Alliance for the Arts (future BAAC) were present to pre-enact a Walnut Street improvement project and share the news of a National Endowment for the Arts, Our Town Grant award. The grant funds will facilitate Land Use Planning of the downtown Batesville area, Preliminary Design of a Living Street Concept for the Walnut Street corridor and a Public Art Installation. A section of Walnut street was transformed with trees, a patch of grass and string lights to show how a pedestrian-friendly street would have a dual role of being both a street and at times a beautiful pedestrian area.
Anne Raver, BAAC Community Liaison and Batesville Main Street Board member explained the grant, early drawings and talked about the benefits. She added, “all are welcome to join BAAC and the Batesville Main Street in continuing the momentum created by the efforts of The Sherman and several other downtown initiatives to continue to restore downtown Batesville with place-making and revitalization initiatives. Contact us to be a part of the village.”
At 6:30 nearly 100 registered runners participated in a 5K run organized by the “What the Hill” running club, The Sherman and several volunteers. The first annual OktoBEERfest, a special event at the Oktoberfest, featured a competitive run to raise funds for the Batesville-based Matthew 19:26 Mission Team who will be helping an orphanage in Kenya with building projects this fall. “We were fortunate to raise several thousand dollars to support their work thanks to amazing sponsors and volunteers,” noted Curtis Gillman.
The running tour through downtown Batesville started and ended at The Sherman. All runners were rewarded with t-shirts, a special color-changing mug and a free beer. The “What the Hill” running club of Batesville and The Sherman were one of 25 sponsors supporting the Mission Team’s 2018 program.
The Sherman would like to thank several music sponsors; 1) The Friendship State Bank, The Stone Studio, Gehring, Inc., Leising Excavating & Mulch, Budweiser, Fitzpatrick Construction, Gillman Home Center and Pro-Prints, 2) the extra hands who worked the event including the Batesville Youth Baseball/Softball Club, the Batesville High School Tennis Team, and Batesville Main Street and 3) Mayor Mike Bettice and the City of Batesville for their support in closing the streets and donating the tables and chairs among other supporting activities through the course of the months leading up to the event.
“Most importantly, the guests who came out to celebrate made it a special event,” added Heringer. “Many walked from neighboring streets, others came from Greensburg, Cincinnati or further. Where ever they came from we are grateful for the visit and look forward to seeing you back at The Sherman soon,” said Heringer.
