Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest’s German Bands Help Get Your Oom-Pah-Pah On

There are several Oktoberfests around here.

(Click here for Greg Nagel’s recent roundup.)

Many have traditional German beer. Many have traditional German food. However, if you want a guarantee that you will be enjoying traditional German beer and traditional German food with traditional German music, head up into the San Bernardino Mountains and Big Bear Lake.

For the first time in its 49-year history, the Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest retained four different German bands to perform live in the same season, which this time extends through Nov. 2.

“We want to give our guests a little slice of Bavaria right here in Big Bear Lake,” explains Monica Marini, the Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest director. “Instead of taking that long expensive flight to Munich, Germany, they can take a short trip up to Big Bear to experience a truly authentic Oktoberfest celebration.”

Marini is the daughter of German immigrants Hans and Erika Bandows, who founded the Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest in 1970. Perhaps they associated the SoCal alpine setting with the Bavarian Alps; at 6,750 feet, Big Bear Lake’s is the highest altitude Oktoberfest in the United States.

Speaking of made in Germany, Franken Power Express from Hammelburg performed the weekends of Sept. 14-15 and Sept. 21-22. This weekend and next (Sept. 28-29 and Oct. 4-5) brings Frankenrebellen Express direct from the Franconia region of Bavaria. Die Bohmische Straßenmusikanten, which hails from the eastern province of Bavaria, are booked for the Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest’s peak weekends: Oct. 12-13 and Oct. 19-20. Closing things out–and back by popular demand–is Bavarian nine-piece Goldeisen Oct. 26-27 and the final day Saturday, Nov. 2.

Yours truly had the pleasure of catching Franken Power Express on their final weekend in Big Bear, and what a talented group of musicians they are. Band members switch instruments–for instance, from electric guitars and keyboards to accordion, horns and other brass. They also mix popular and traditional German songs and polkas with English-language hits like the Village People’s “YMCA” and the Bee Gees’ “Staying Alive.”

“Big Bear Guide” Dan McKernan, who had invited me up, caught up with me during one of my union-mandated beer breaks outside the main hall where Franken Power Express performed as part of its residency. He wondered if I’d picked up on how perfect the singers’ English was on the disco anthems. Not only was their pronunciation perfect on those classics, but their mother tongues were spot on during the German-language tunes. I know because I took two years of German in college and still could not follow what the hell they were singing.

McKernan shared that he interviewed the Franken Power Expressman who was billed as having the greatest command of English, but Dan could not understand him due to his thick German accent. We all shared a laugh over that, but then again I was pretty loose by then since it was my third or seventh union-mandated beer break. Hey, don’t blame me for losing count, because Franken Power Express punctuated each song with rounds of “Ziggy Zaggy, Ziggy Zaggy, Oi Oi Oi!,” the ending to the song “Ein Prosit” and a traditional German toast to health and well-being. It could have sparked an international incident worse than a Trump tweet had I not responded each time by raising my 49th Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest glass stein and emptying its contents.

If you are going up for Frankenrebellen Express this weekend or next, know that their members are also known for their thick German accents as well as a penchant for playing party songs and, I’d suspect, “Ziggy Zaggy, Ziggy Zaggy, Oi Oi Oi!” oi-ver and oi-ver again. They are followed in the lineup by Die Bohmische Straßenmusikanten, which combines street music and fast-paced rhythms on Bavarian folk standards and contemporary pop hits, and then Goldeisen, which plays pulsating German tunes that get attendees out of their seats (if not their minds).

Heading up to Big Bear Lake was a snap. My wife and I left Orange County mid-morning on a Saturday and by early afternoon we were sitting down for a quick bite at 527 Social Kitchen & Lounge in Big Bear Village. We’d escaped a late summer boil down in the flats and found it sunny, but nowhere near as hot, in the mountains. If you sat in or passed through shade, you could feel fall coolness starting to take hold. Just wait about six more days, McKernan assured me.

For lunch, 527 Social serves burgers, sandwiches, salads and small plates. The Mrs. and I sat in the outdoor patio under an umbrella, where we split the excellent Mac N’ Cheese, which is sprinkled with bread on top and baked, and a bleu cheese wedge salad, which obviously put us over our cheese intake for the day. She washed her food down with a white wine, and I had 527 Social’s take on a whiskey mule, which included a generous pour. Danke!

We left to walk around and shop in the Village, where we deposited way too much into the local economy before heading to our rental cabin in the Moonridge area, very close to Bear Mountain ski resort. I almost typed “one bedroom,” because that’s how Big Bear Cool Cabins had it listed. Actually, the A-frame structure known as “The Getaway” has a lower level with a living room, kitchen, fireplace and bathroom (with shower tub) and stairs leading up to a second level with beds for two on either side of the top of the staircase. The Getaway is comfortable, well decorated and has a front and back deck that would come in handy for ski and snow play gear (or fishing gear for all you lake lovers).

A short walk in the fresh, mountain air to a stop for the free shuttle that picks up all over Big Bear Lake delivered us to the Oktoberfest grounds, after a leisurely ride that takes in some great lake and mountain views. The Old West-themed Big Bear Lake Convention Center is transformed into a Bavarian village for Oktoberfest, and the first thing that caught my eye walking through the entrance gate was a booth with a Big Bear Cool Cabins shade over it.

The center of the Oktoberfest universe is the main hall where the bands play, German food is served, German and American beers are poured, dancing and contests are held and official merchandise is sold. Ringing the main hall outside are vendor booths, food and beer trailers, a kids play area with multiple giant inflatables and a second stage where, the night I attended, a blues-rock band playing had a guitarist who resembled a slightly older Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top. (I had to break my phone out and record their version of “La Grange.”).

Ice-cold beers from Paulaner and Warsteiner are served inside and outside the hall, and I stuck with the Warsteiner Oktoberfest special until the last round, when I could not resist a St. Archer hazy IPA. Lugging around that large, heavy beer glass, I could not understand why it kept emptying so quickly. (Hint: Ziggy Zaggy.)

For dinner, we got the plate that has bratwurst served in a pretzel dinner roll with German potato salad and sauerkraut. It was hearty and delicious, but one of my biggest disappointment of the weekend was my inability to find the fresh apple strudel supplied by Sunflour Bakery of Newport Beach. Seems like every time I was going to inquire about the baked goods location, a pourer of the Warsteiner Oktoberfest special got in the way!

Besides Franken Power Express, our dinner entertainment included the many dancers, congo-line members and contestants in the log sawing, stein holding, stein carrying and beer ponging competitions. Yes, there is the ubiquitous chicken dance but, oddly, as the band played and the dance floor was flooded with chicken dancers, I did not see whoever had been wearing a yellow chicken costume earlier in the evening. Wrong time for a potty break!

Several people enjoying Oktoberfest had come in large groups, which can’t help but be a blast, and fortunately there’s that free shuttle to take them back to their lodging accommodations. We opted to Uber because we were afraid we’d get off the shuttle at the wrong stop and, walking home in the dark, become dinner for a big Big Bear bear.

The 49th annual Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest continues at Big Bear Lake Convention Center, 42900 Big Bear Blvd., Big Bear Lake, (909) 585-3000; BigBearEvents.com. Sat., noon-midnight; Sun., noon-6 p.m. Through Sat., Nov. 2.

Tickets for final Saturday of September range from $17.99 to $23.99 for adults, $13.99 to $17.99 for seniors (62+), and $11 for children 12 and under, while this Sunday’s admission prices are $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and children 12 and under are free. Like with the nearby ski resorts’ lift tickets, prices rise during peak times, and October is the peak time for Oktoberfest (it’s in the name!). Saturdays in October range from $26.99 to $32.99 for adults, $18.99 to $23.99 for seniors (62+), and $11 for children 12 and under. Saturday, Nov. 2, has a special encore celebration rate of $17.99 for adults, $13.99 for seniors (62+), and $11 for children 12 and under. It is highly recommended to pre-purchase tickets for all Saturdays in October. Visit BigBearEvents.com to explore all your options.

Oh, and check out BigBearCoolCabins.com for lodging options. We have our eyes on a larger cabin a couple doors down come ski season. Prosit!