There are many reasons to love Oktoberfest: beer, pretzels, lederhosen and of course, rocking out to tuba and accordion versions of pop songs like Thriller and Material Girl. And one popular Astoria bar is gearing up for a big Oktoberfest celebration of its own.
The Bonnie will be hosting its third Oktoberfest starting bright and early at 10 a.m. on Sept. 29.
“It is a crazy good time,” said the bar’s general manager Mike Di Tota. All employees will dressed in lederhosen and dirndls as they serve the expect crowd of 300 people half a dozen German beers not normally sold at The Bonnie.
The bar will also have a special menu consisting of bratwurst, pretzels and German potato salad. Traditional Oktoberfest music will be played by a live band called Das Booty, a play off of the title of the famous German submarine thriller Das Boot.
“They do the best cover of Oasis’ Champaign Super Nova,” said Di Tota, who said that the band would also be playing covers of pop songs in German Folk fashion.
The most exciting part of the day is the Mug Holding contest, otherwise known as a beer stein holding contest, the competition is an Oktoberfest tradition in which participants hold a beer filled 1-liter mug and try to outlast each other. The first one to have their vessel of beer drop loses. The contest begins at 8pm.
What makes The Bonnie an especially fun place to hang out is the spacious backyard and patio. Most to the Oktoberfest festivities will take place outside. But even if the weather is bad there is no way that the party will be put on hold.
“It was raining last year but just put up an awning,” said Di Tota. Excitement and the intensity go the competition could be heard from the neighboring streets. “There was a lot of yelling and screaming and struggle.”
Visit The Bonnie’s website for more information about hours of operation and drink items.
