Thousands lined up before the event and came in throughout the day to experience what New Ulm’s final day of Oktoberfest had to offer. The first keg was tapped in the big tent around 10:45 a.m., officially kicking off the festivities to the music of Schell’s Hobo Band.

Every year, one lucky attendee wins the glass boot. The boot is given to whoever gets the last glass of beer from the first keg. This year, the winner was 26-year-old Sarah Smith from Blaine. Smith said she first came to Oktoberfest three years ago with her sister Emily after a visit to Schell’s.

“We came to tour Schell’s in the wintertime because we are big fans of Grain Belt,” Sarah Smith said. “They said ‘Hey, come back for Oktoberfest.’ [We did] and we’ve come every year since.”

After their first experience, the Smith sisters were hooked and invited their friends to come down. Now it is a tradition they’re looking to spread to as many people as possible.

Sarah Smith (bottom middle) celebrates with sister Emily Smith (left) and friends Jacob Cooper (top middle) and Sam Hajjali (right). The Smith sisters have been going together for three years, making it a tradition to bring as many friends as possible.

“it was beautiful weather and exciting crowd [our first time out],” Smith said. “It’s a fun environment. We’ve brought different people every year and we want to share the event with more and more people.”

With the story of how she won the famed glass boot, Smith should have no problem spreading the word around.

New winners were crowned in the stein-holding competition. After competing in individual rounds, the winners of each round held a winner-takes-all finale in both the men’s and women’s divisions. Jeff Kelley was considered a heavy favorite in the men’s division. He not only won last year’s event but also Bavarian Blast’s stein-holding competition this summer.

It was a neck-and-neck battle, but Kelley was bested by new champion Pat Melhop from North Mankato with a time of 11 minutes. The victory was extra sweet for two reasons. One, Melhop had finished third the previous year to Kelley. Two, Melhop had a heart attack in early 2023. Even with the odds stacked against him, he said he tried to have fun and was happy to even be there.

After winning, Melhop said there was one thing he was looking forward to.

Pat Melhop and Jodee Haala hold the keg of champions as they won the men’s and women’s stein-holding competitions. Haala held on for three minutes and 50 seconds, while Melhop held on for 11 minutes.

“Relaxing my arm. Hopefully, I can lift it again soon,” he said.

Jodee Haala won the women’s final with a time of three minutes and 50 seconds to become the new women’s champion. Haala had only entered one competition before this and was encouraged to join in by a friend who came down from Spicer. What did she do to prepare?

“I eat a lot of sauerkraut,” Haala said.” It was sheer strength.”

Even though this was her first entry into the stein-holding competition, she has attended New Ulm Oktoberfest every year it has run. She said the festival has come a long way from the small tents and half-full crowds when it started.

“It’s great this community can continue to attract people from all over the state and around the Midwest to come,” Haala said. “New Ulm is a fantastic place with a ton of diversity and a lot of rich history. It’s been really fun to see the growth of a family-held business. When you have people coming to the town, it benefits the entire community.”

The prize for winning was bragging rights, as each winner got to sign their name on the keg of champions. Their names and the date they won are now a permanent fixture, listed alongside the triumphs of previous winners.

Oktoberfest continues to bring people in every year who have never attended. Many of those have never been to an Oktoberfest before. For traveling Oktoberfest musician Kerry Johnson, this could not be further from the truth.

“I lived in Los Angeles, which has a very big German community,” he said. “I played with a New York State Champion accordion player, and we formed a band called Grand Ole Vienna. We played German music all over LA for 12 years. I learned how to sing all the German beer-drinking songs. When I moved to Minnesota 25 years ago, I got in with a more German band. I’ve been hopping around playing with German bands and every Oktoberfest I play about 20 to 30 gigs at various places.”

For New Ulm’s Oktoberfest, Johnson said it was exciting for his first time to be as an attendee and not a performer. Even with his vast experience, Johnson was blown away by what New Ulm had to offer.

“This is massive,” he said. “It’s the biggest one I’ve seen in the state. I don’t know if they were prepared for this number of people. The lines were pretty good [size].”

As a professional performer, Johnson gave his stamp of approval to the musical acts who played at Schell’s. He said he hopes to return someday, perhaps when it’s a little less crowded.

Schell’s Hobo Band played their set from 10:40 to 1:30 p.m. Alpensterne was then given the floor for their mix of German and American classics until the event closed at 5 p.m. DJ Strudel Boy served up a different style during the event, consisting of dance music from Europe and America.

Those not interested in the hustle and bustle of a packed Schell’s Brewery had performances from several bands at the Best Western. The Concord Singers rounded out their busy Oktoberfest schedule with performances from 2-3 p.m. and 7-8 p.m. Leon Olson and the Dains Dutchmen performed polka classics from 3-7 p.m. The evening was capped off by Powerhouse, who played a blend of genres with songs past and present from 8:30 to 12 p.m.