VANDALIA, Ohio (WDTN) — The Sister Cities of Vandalia Oktoberfest returns this weekend.
More than 5,000 people are expected over the course of two days.
It will be held Friday, September 8 from 6 p.m. to midnight, and Saturday, September 9 from noon until midnight at the Vandalia Sports Complex at 1111 Stonequarry Road.
Ahead of the festival, volunteers have been busy as usual prepping the potato salad.
David Starline is one of the volunteers on potato salad duty. He’s also the president of the Sister Cities of Vandalia.
“I’ve personally been doing it for 30 years. Most of these guys have been doing it for about ten to 15 years,” says Starline.
From boiling, to cutting, to mixing, they have an assembly formed to create about 400 pounds of potato salad for Oktoberfest.
“The recipe came from one of our members. It’s a famous potato salad that everybody comes far and wide to taste,” says Tracy Schaffner.
Schaffner is a board member and has been volunteering since 1997.
“I work with the most amazing crew of people every year,” says Schaffner as she cuts potatoes.
The potato salad is just as much of a tradition as the festival. Held for more than four decades, Oktoberfest is a fundraiser for the Sister Cities of Vandalia.
“We’re a nonprofit organization,” says Starline. “The money that we generate from this goes back into our local communities in the form of scholarships, student exchanges, supporting local sports teams.”
Hoping for a good turnout, they say they couldn’t do it without their army of volunteers.
“It’s just a lot of fun!” says Schaffner.
Admission to Oktoberfest is $5 each day.
