In October 2004, some five thousand folks gathered at Soulard Market Park to hoist their steins to the area’s German heritage, in the first Soulard Oktoberfest. The party went so well that they came back the next year and the year after that. On the weekend of Oct. 11-13, 40,000 to 50,000 people are expected to celebrate the 10th annual Soulard Oktoberfest.

And why shouldn’t they celebrate? After all, it’s an event so popular that the Associated Press listed it third in its list of biggest Oktoberfests in 2011. That year, those at the Oktoberfest drank 1,300 kegs at the fest at Lyon Park in Soulard, well above the 50 kegs consumed in 2004. The next year the Oktoberfest moved to bigger digs two blocks east of the Soulard Market at Third and Lafayette. They’ll be there this year.

“Now we have people from all over, especially the Midwest and St. Louis. We have a great following among the younger party crowd,” said Soulard Oktoberfest Founder John McKinstry. He was involved in the old Strassenfest in St. Louis before he started the Soulard Oktoberfest. Bands and beer from Germany keep the celebration authentic. So do helpers and volunteers from the city’s German-American community.

“We do our very best to duplicate the German Oktoberfest in St. Louis,” McKinstry said. “If you’re looking for a German experience, not just a rock fest, then the Soulard Oktoberfest is the place to be.”