On the morning of Oct. 3, hundreds of high school students gathered on the streets of Montrose to prepare for the annual Oktoberfest.  Arriving as early as 7 a.m., Clarkies gathered behind Citibank where they were were given instructions for what needed to be done.  

Julia Rabago, Volunteer Coordinator for Oktoberfest, said that she was glad to have Clark students help set up for the annual festivities. “We have hundreds of Clark kids volunteering and we are very grateful for their help — helping us run things to booths, man booths, and helping us just get everything organized.”

This year Oktoberfest was a huge event, taking up the 2200, 2300 and 2400 blocks of Honolulu Ave.  At 6 a.m., cars and trucks began to arrive on the streets of Montrose loaded with food, tents and barrels of deutsches bier (also known as beer).

One hundred and twenty-seven students from Clark signed up to volunteer at Oktoberfest, according to counseling clerk Becky Bondy.  In the morning, volunteers met up with the leaders, Joan Paz and Joshua De Leon, seniors at Clark. “Oktoberfest was an awesome experience to lead students for their job duties,” Paz said. “They were all helpful and supportive. I experienced as a leader to have new tasks to learn as a future development of becoming in the leadership duties of a job.”

As the volunteers checked in, they were given maps and posters to hang in their assigned booths.  After finding their booths, the volunteers jumped on chairs and tables in order to get everything up. The streets were completely set up with tents and rides by 11 a.m. They began to fill up with people dressed in traditional German clothing as the volunteers ran into their booths to sell tickets, churros and pretzels.

Around 11 p.m., the annual festivities came to an end, and the Clark students went home after serving at most 16-hour shifts. Although the students spent their Saturday setting up and manning booths, many said they enjoyed helping and said they would help again., “I enjoy Oktoberfest because it’s a great time of the year when everyone can gather around and have fun,” said sophomore Michael Georgizian. “This is my second year volunteering.  It’s always a great experience.”