A 15-piece Bavarian oompah band is set to headline the Harbour View Hotel’s first Oktoberfest next month – one of three gigs lined up for the first festival of its kind in Raglan.
Publican Fiona Gates wants people to dress to theme and have some raucous fun while the lederhosen-clad BierKunstlers perform traditional German numbers like Ein Prosit, which is sung every 15 minutes or so at the annual beer festival in Munich to incite merriment and good cheer.
Festival-goers traditionally sing along, raise their steins and call out ‘oans, zwoa, drei, g’suffa’, a cry translating to ‘one, two, three, drink!’
To mark Raglan’s own Oktoberfest on October 5 there’ll be specially branded Harbour View Hotel one litre or 500ml steins to drink from and take home, available with each ticket purchase, says Fiona. Tickets will include a spit-roasted pork or German sausage roll from the revamped garden bar.
German pork hock, chicken schnitzel jager, bratwurst, sauerkraut and pretzels will also feature on the menu.
And specially printed ‘HVH Oktoberfest’ T-shirts will be available for an event Fiona expects to be one of the pub’s biggest yet under her management. “It’s all very exciting,” she says.
The oompah band is slotted to play from 1.30pm until mid afternoon. They’ll be followed by local blues/rock band The Raglaners and – from 7.30pm – it’ll be the Recliner Rockers, an Auckland-based blues-rockabilly-roots-rock band.
There’ll then be what Fiona describes as a “huge line-up” at the old pub a fortnight later on Labour Weekend, as part of a Raglan Country & Blues Festival being held over three days at the Old School Arts Centre, the Congregational Church in Stewart St and the Harbour View Hotel.
First up on the Saturday night at the pub will be MojoMasters featuring former Mudsharks Dave Maybee and Peter Skandera along with the JamesRAy Band.
Then on the Sunday night iconic Raglan bluesman and former Mudsharks guest vocalist Midge Marsden will take centre stage at the pub, supported by Penni Feather.
*Oktoberfest kicks off at the Harbour View from 1pm, Saturday Oct 5.
*Labour Weekend line-up kicks off at the pub with MojoMasters featuring Dave Maybee & Peter Skandera, and JamesRAy Band on Saturday Oct 26 at 8pm; and the Midge Marsden Band with Penni Feather support on Sunday Oct 27 at 8pm.
Edith Symes
