Lederhosen, libations and living it up: Oktoberfest brings hundreds to St. Feriole

By Steve Van Kooten

This past Saturday, St. Feriole Island hosted another Oktoberfest, which brought droves of people — many of them suited in lederhosen and with suitable libations in hand — from Prairie du Chien, Southwest Wisconsin and even farther to experience a celebration of German culture, good food and family fun.

The event, which began more than a decade ago, was held around the Fireman’s Association Shelter on the island and has become one of the largest held on St. Feriole.

“We’ve grown so much. Since we’ve come out of the [Memorial] Gardens, it’s just grown tremendously,” said Oktoberfest Committee President Dave Wesener. “We’ve expanded the different things we’re doing as well, and this area gives us more room. This year we’ve got better fencing — it’s a real festival atmosphere.”

Oktoberfest kicked off with a disc golf tournament at 7 a.m. on Oct. 18. The annual parade followed at 10 a.m. The Prairie du Chien High School Band, local businesses and even a few politicians marched from People’s State Bank on East Blackhawk Avenue down to the island.

A commencement ceremony, which included comments from the 2025 Fest Master, Tad Beutin, and Miss Oktoberfest, Cassie Hubanks, signaled the official start of the event’s festivities.

Hubanks thanked the bands, the city’s parks and recreation department and all of the people that donate their time to make the event a reality.

“There are people who give a lot to be here,” she said. “The Boy Scouts every year are here, and that’s a big commitment to make on a Saturday in October… It’s easy to say, ‘I can’t; I have other things going on.’ It really means a lot to see the turnout that we do during such a busy time. This is a community effort, and everybody that helps brings so much tourism and income to small businesses and people to see this beautiful area that we live in.”

The rest of the day included music from the Guttenberg German Band and Button Box, kids' games and crafts, a cornhole tournament and Hammerschlagen, food prepared by the Lions Club and, yes, beverages courtesy of Potosi Brewery.

Throughout the day, displays of German culture were available to view, and visitors had a big-screen view of the Wisconsin Badgers and Iowa Hawkeyes football games.

Contests began just before 1 p.m. with the Children’s Root Beer Stein Holding Contest. Three age groups competed, with Corby Meinholz, Adelade Meinholz and Ashlin Nolan earning wins.

The Sauerkraut Eating Contest started at 2 p.m. In 2024, Zach Oyen, of Potosi, proved he had the guts to triumph over a dozen other competitors. This year, Janet Nelson took home the nod — and $100 — against six other competitors, including 12-year-old Savannah Green.

Green had never eaten sauerkraut before entering the contest.

“I love trying new things,” she said. “I will never in my life have it by itself ever again.”

The 2025 Oktoberfest featured several winners from last year’s event returning to defend their titles, including the winners of the men’s and women’s beer stein holding contests. Coley Lipp, who bested the field last year, outlasted 10 other women to take home first place, and Steve Steiner became a five-time stein-holding champion after 11 other men’s arms fell.

There were 24 men vying for a stein-holding title, so a second 12-man heat took place, with Matt Halverson getting the nod.

Finally, the men's and women's Keg Toss Contest will round out the competitive activities for the day at 4 p.m.

While the women featured a dominating performance from Kayla Sherhorn, who wowed the crowd with a 26-foot 9-inch toss, the men’s event inspired awe with a three-way showdown between 2024’s champion Chance Harvey, 2024’s runner-up Todd Kuennen and Adam Clausen.

Clausen set the bar early with a 30-foot 4.25-inch toss after a controversial footfall penalty at the line.

Harvey fell short on his first throw and then passed Clausen with a 30-foot 9.5-inch rocket. Kennen couldn’t quite reach the 30-foot mark, making 2025’s event another feather in Harvey’s cap.

The Oktoberfest Committee promised to make this year’s event the biggest ever, and they delivered with an “after party” taking place that evening.

The Prairie du Chien Rotary Club hosted the after-party starting at 5:30 p.m. Visitors enjoyed musical entertainment from Live Wire and 2 for the Road as well as a 39-team beer pong tournament, making it the first time another organization has co-sponsored a part of Oktoberfest.

“We’ve been talking about something like this for a while. Every year we critique what went well and what didn’t, and we offered the Rotary Club the first chance at hosting it with us, and they can make it a fundraiser for a bandstand that’s going to be built very close to here,” said Wesener.