Schnitz and knep.
Pork and sauerkraut.
Oktoberfest and the Liederkranz.
Some things just go together naturally.
But Oktoberfest and the Reading Liederkranz weren’t always a perfect pairing.
Although the Liederkranz was founded in 1885 as a German singing society, the English translation of “Liederkranz,” it wasn’t until 40 years ago that an Oktoberfest tradition began.
The first Oktoberfests were held at Owls Field in West Lawn, said Mike Borst, general manager of the social club at 143 Spook Lane, Lower Alsace Township.
“With the merger in 1990 with the Eagle Mountain Home it made Oktoberfest a lot easier, a lot better for us,” he said.
Oktoberfest is always the first weekend of October but will start on Sept. 30 and run through Oct. 4, Borst said.
Lloyd “Rolfe” Hoganmuller of Quakertown is ready to dig into Oktoberfest at the Liederkranz in Lower Alsace Township on Oct. 1, 2022. He was attending with longtime friend Billie “Gretchen” Stern, also of Quakertown. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The Liederkranz started out with eight German men who got together to sing in Bowman’s Hall on North 10th Street before growing to over 40 members in the first year, necessitating the purchase of a separate property in 1902 in the 800 block of Chestnut Street, Borst said.
The club remained there until the merger in 1990 with the Eagle Mountain Home, where the Oktoberfest tradition flourished.
“We had our own property and had our own facility to use,” Borst said. “It wasn’t always as big as it is now.”
Nor as famous.
The Liederkranz Oktoberfest has consistently ranked in the top 10 American Oktoberfests by USA Today, bringing in No. 1 in 2015 and 2017. Last year it ranked No. 2 in the nation.
As befitting a singing society, music is at the core of the Liederkranz Oktoberfest.
The highlight will be Friday night’s show with Alex Meixner and his band, Borst said.
“Meixner is a world-famous accordionist,” he said. “He’s very high energy and will fuse German music with popular music and rock and roll.”
Kate Campbell of Reading dances a polka with her son Clayton, 5, at Oktoberfest at the Liederkranz in Lower Alsace Township on Oct. 1, 2022. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The Reading Liederkranz singers will also be performing throughout the weekend.
It also wouldn’t be an Oktoberfest without a good helping of food.
“You can’t go wrong with the pork schnitzel dinner,” Borst said. “Goulash over noodles is a staple up here. Our roast pork platter is very good. It’s roasted and thin cut and served either on a platter or a sandwich.”
There’s also been a change in the bratwurst.
“Our bratwursts are better this year than they were last year,” he said. “We’re sourcing them from a farm out in Lebanon County, and they’re head and shoulders above and give you what a brat should be.”
Lastly, what’s an Oktoberfest without some good German beer?
And lots of it?
“The beer is all good,” Borst said, “anywhere from your traditional Oktoberfest beers to lagers to even some craft beers.”
The main bar outside will have 14 taps along with as many as seven beer trucks underneath the big tent out in the Oktoberfest field, he said.
For more information about the Oktoberfest at the Liederkranz, including menus, lineups of the musical acts and the listing of beers available, go to the website at readingliederkranz.com.
“Everybody’s welcome at Oktoberfest,” Borst said. “Come early for best seats and for the smallest food lines because we do get a little busy sometimes.”