Southern Indiana is home to one of the largest German-American populations in the country. In Jasper, Bloomington, Evansville, Indianapolis, or Seymour Indiana you can find evidence in their distinctive last names, architecture and their choice of restaraunts (I recommend the Schnitzelbank in Jasper). Another big attraction associated with German herritage is the Oktoberfest.
The real, or at least the big, Oktoberfest is held in Munic, Germany and typically runs through the 16 days preceding and including the first Sunday in October. According to Wikipedia, it's one of the largest fairs in the world with over 6 million people attending each year. The festival includes German food and flair but the main attraction is always the beer. Various German-American towns accross Indiana host their own version of the famous festival and some are quite popular. One of the most popular of Indiana's Oktoberfests is in Seymour Indiana.
Seymour Indiana, hometown of John Cougar Melancamp (if you don't know who he is stop reading this, your either too young to drink or not cool enough to drink beer) will kick off it's Oktoberfest on October the first with an authentic "bier garten" and entertainment by Schulhaus. Shulhaus is a fairly well known band in Indiana and plays traditional German music including Polkas as well as doing the chicken and bunny hop dances.
Seymour's Oktoberfest also hosts a brat eating contest, but if you plan on competing you'd better start training now. For the last 4 years the contest has been won by Matt Adams, who won last year by eating 14 of the meaty sausages. For more information on the festival go to http://seymouroktoberfest.com/index.html.
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