It's all about the sauerkraut

Waynesville, Ohio (WDTN) - In 1970s  as the Waynesville Retail Merchants were planning to hold a sidewalk sale, it was suggested that a sauerkraut dinner be served as part of the event and with this decision, the Oho Sauerkraut Festival was born.

That fall, on October 3, 1970, Waynesville hosted its first Sauerkraut Festival, serving 528 pounds of sauerkraut to approximately 1500 visitors.  Entertainment included an antique car parade. 

Booths were set up on Main Street to sell kraut-containing foods (including sauerkraut ice cream), fall harvest, produce, and display the antiques, arts, and crafts of a few vendors.

The Festival continued to attract even-larger numbers of visitors, surpassing 40,000 in 1976. 

In the early 1980's the number of arts and crafts booths steadily increased, and the number of festival goers increased to an estimated 100,000 in 1982.

The Ohio Sauerkraut Festival serves 7 tons of sauerkraut and attracts approximately 350,000 visitors each year to browse among the over 450 craft booths and sample the offerings from more than 30 different food booths. 

It continues to be one of the top quality festivals in the United States, attracting visitors and vendors from every state across the Nation. 

The festival all kicks off this Saturday and Sunday and for a complete rundown of all things sauerkraut click HERE