SNOW HILL – Residents can celebrate with food and fun at Snow Hill’s first ever Oktoberfest this Saturday.
On Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Snow Hill invites the community to come out for German food, a beer garden and a performance from Frank Nanna and the CowPolkas.
“Come out for good food, good times and to do the chicken dance,” said Michael Day, the town’s economic development consultant.
Day, who’s been working to liven up Snow Hill with more events, says he expects Oktoberfest to be a success despite the fact it falls on the same day a similar event is being held in Berlin. He pointed out Snow Hill’s highly popular Blessing of the Combines took place the same day as Berlin’s peach festival last summer.
For its first Oktoberfest, the town will entertain guests with live music and beer as well as German fare, highlighted by Schaller and Weber Brautwurst and Weisswurst. In addition, vendors will be on hand with arts and crafts for sale and attendees can check out the array of entries in this year’s scarecrow competition. Day said there were 18 scarecrows set up throughout the town, decorated as everything from animals to Hannibal.
“Some people have gone all out,” he said.
Citizens can vote on their favorite entry at the voting boxes throughout town. A winner will be named at the end of the month.
Day, who was hired earlier this year, says that aside from Oktoberfest he’s got several new things planned for Snow Hill in the future. Though he believes renovating many of the downtown area’s aging buildings will play a key role in the town’s revitalization, he says new events will also generate interest in Snow Hill.
“We’re working on putting Snow Hill on the map through the river,” he said.
Day said the town had hired Conservation Community Consulting, the firm started by Dave Wilson and Jim Rapp, to develop a plan for how the river could be used to generate interest in the small town. Two ideas in the works for 2016 include a three-day Stand Up Paddleboard race as well as a bike week event. Day said the SUP event would include races of a variety of distances and would be highlighted by a 28-mile race from the Snow Hill drawbridge to the Pocomoke City drawbridge and back.
During Bike Week, Day said the town planned to host a “Ride to Sturgis,” that would take bikers to Snow Hill’s own Sturgis Park on the river. Day said it would be a pleasant ride for those based in Ocean City.
“The river is what we’ve got to promote,” he said. “We’re focusing on outdoor activities and we’ll see how far we can go with that.”