Rochester Mills Oktoberfest Gets Approval, Will Add Carnival

Rochester's Oktoberfest will become more festive this year, with the addition of a Lions Club carnival as part of the German-themed festivities.

The Rochester City Council on Monday approved a permit request by the Rochester Mills Beer Company to stage the event, as it has in past years, and had previously approved the addition of the carnival. 

The festival, which models itself after traditional German celebrations in Bavaria, will offer German music, dancing and Rochester Mills' own Märzen-style Oktoberfest beer. This year, the Rochester Hills Lions Club will operate a carnival as part of the three-day event.

The festival will run Sept. 26-29 and is expected to attract about 1,000 attendees per day, according to the brewery's permit application. 

Rochester City Manager Jaymes Vettraino said the Oktoberfest event won't utilize city resources, as road closures and police patrols won't be necessary because Rochester Mills is providing its own security.

"This is an event that's been here several years and my knowledge is that the departments look back at prior years and say we won't be scheduling any additional police staff during the Oktoberfest at this time," he said.