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Oktoberfest is a winner with the attendees and a homerun with the community
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Erica and her husband Nick DiCeglie rode their bikes to the event with their children.
INDIAN ROCKS BEACH — Every year over 4,000 people attend Oktoberfest on the Beach, organizers say. One of the attendees Helen Rosbolt of Indian Rocks Beach said she come to the event every year as community support.
“I am here to support our little town,” Rosbolt said as she enjoyed the brats and the sauerkraut she purchased at the Rotary Club’s tent.
The event became a tradition for some local families, too. Erica DiCeglie and her husband Nick rode their bikes to the event to enjoy the festival with their children Carlo (1,5) and Livia (5).
“We come every year, but we missed the event last year. We are glad to be here this time and the weather is so great,” Erica said.
Nick DiCeglie said they love to celebrate Oktoberfest every year in their community.
“It’s also great way to give back to our community,” he said.
The festival started as a Super Bowl tailgate party in 2001. Over the years, the Oktoberfest on the Beach bigger and better, organizers say. The event also became more than a fun and music for the community. The eight annual festival at Kolb Park is a major fundraiser for local non-profits, including Action 2000 and Indian Rocks Rotary Club, the organizers of the event.
Event chair John Todia and president of Action 2000 Eric Meyer say this year donations are down but they hope to raise as much money as they raised last year to continue to give back to the community.
“We put donations we receive back into the community,” says organizer John Todia of the IRB Rotary.
“Last year we raised $25,000 and this year, if we match it, I will be happy.”
The Rotary funds hurricane victims in Florida, the Beach Arts Center, Ridgecress Community, Anona Elementary, IRB Youth Sailing Club, and Rotary Camp Florida, Todia said. Among their international projects he said they are sponsoring an orphanage in Romania and the Rotary Youth Exchange program.
“The Rotary Club distributed over $48,000 last year to three local public schools and we were the largest contributor to Calvary Episcopal Food Pantry. We also contributed with $7,000 to the Rotary International's Polio Plus program,” he said.
Action 2000 funds the building of bus shelters, trash receptacles and other beautification projects along Gulf Boulevard, Meyer said.
“We hope to be able to finance other community projects as they come along,” he said.
Both organizers said their organizations need more donations and more volunteers.
The festival is organized by volunteers like Michael Hurtack president of the board of directors from the Beach Arts Center and a Rotarian. He shares his time between volunteering for the art center and the Rotary Club tents.
“It helps us raise money so that we can help the community. This is one of the major fundraisers for the local non-profits so that we can survive,” Hurtack said. “All these organizations work together so that we can bring something special to the community.”
The festival featured among other tradition German music, food and beer, art exhibits, silent auction, and family-friendly activities including hula hoop contest, dodge ball, and “kiddie Olympics.”
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