OKTOBERFEST

The Villages is famous for its ability to have fun and celebrating life.  Today was the celebration of Oktoberfest. I decided I needed a break from unpacking and the challenge of finding a place for everything.   At 3pm I headed out for Spanish Springs where a parade was to begin at 4.  Something told me that I needed to get there plenty early to find a good viewing spot and hopefully a chair or bench to sit on.  Boy was I correct!  The area around the Square was already packed with people when I arrived.  The parade was something else.  It lasted over 30 minutes and included all elements needed to make it a fun event.

There were floats........

........walking units and also bands,  Speaking of bands, I'm not sure what connection bag pipes have to German culture, but there was a rather large group of bag pipers complete with the proper attire of kilts.   There were also horses and lots of flags.

 After the parade there was entertainment at the pavilion as well as at other venues around the Square. The entertainment was kicked off by a performance of The Village Cheerleaders.  They were so fun to watch and there were probably around 60 of them. The group actually has over 130 but many of them are snowbirds and are not yet down here for the winter.  I had heard about this group last week and wondered about cheerleaders that were over 55.  Actually I would say they are more a Pom group. but whatever they were fun to watch and they were obviously have fun.  

Then came the music and the dancing.  There is always dancing at the Squares when there is music. There were several couples like this one dressed in ethnic German attire and having a fantastic time as they waltzed and did the polka around the gazebo. 

I wandered around and listened to some of the music at other points around the Square then decided to head over to Lake Sumter Landing to see what Oktoberfest had to offer over there.  When I arrived I discovered it wasn't so much what they had to offer but what they didn't have. There was no power!  The main thing this lack did was cause the stores along Main Street to close up and restaurants weren't serving food but were still doing a booming bar business.  Most of the vendors who were around Market Square and set up for Oktoberfest had generators so they were up and operational.

I ran into Pam and Allen, some friends here and then after a chat with them went off to find some dinner.  Since I was celebrating Oktoberfest I bi-passed Chik-Filet, Sonny;s Bar-b-Que, and Greek food and had Beer and Brats with a funnel cake for dessert!  Then after a bit more music and watch a bit more dancing I headed back home after a fun afternoon and evening.