WARESPEDIA

SOURCE: BOSTON.COM

OKTOBERFEST:

On Saturday, September 18th, with the tapping of the first keg by Munich Mayor Christian Ude and a cry of "O'zapft is!", Oktoberfest 2010 officially started in Munich, Germany. While this year marks the 177th Oktoberfest to be held, 2010 is the 200th anniversary of the very first Oktoberfest in 1810 (some years were missed due to war or cholera outbreaks). The Oktoberfest tradition started in 1810 to celebrate the October 12th marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The citizens of Munich were invited to join in the festivities which were held over five days on the fields in front of the city gates. This year, festivities will run until October 4, 2010. Collected here are a few images from this opening weekend.

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A young woman wearing a traditional Bavarian "Dirndl" smiles as she receives a mug of beer in the Hofbrauhaus tent after the opening of the Oktoberfest beer festival at the Theresienwiese in Munich, southern Germany, on September 18, 2010.


Bavarian riflemen march in the traditional costumes at the riflemen's procession on the occasion of the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany on Sunday,


Men in traditional Bavarian outfits participate in the traditional riflemen's parade of the Oktoberfest on September 19, 2010 in Munich, Germany.


People wearing traditional Bavarian clothes raise a toast during the opening of the 177th Oktoberfest in Munich on September 18, 2010.


A young woman prepares a booth selling gingerbread hearts for the Oktoberfest beer festival at the Theresienwiese in Munich on September 16, 2010.


Girls celebrate and drink beer at the Hacker beer tent during the opening day of the Oktoberfest at Theresienwiese on September 18, 2010 in Munich.


An overview of a crowded beer tent during the second day of the Oktoberfest on September 19, 2010 in Munich, Germany.


Girls wearing traditional Bavarian Dirndl dresses scream on a fairground ride at the Theresienwiese fairgrounds at the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich on September 19, 2010.


A little girl on her father's shoulders eats cotton candy on the Theresienwiese in Munich during Oktoberfest on September 19th, 2010.


Young women cheer with beer mugs after the official opening of the 177th edition of the Oktoberfest beer festival in a tent at the Theresienwiese in Munich on September 18, 2010.


A chairoplane spins near a ferris wheel during the opening day of the Oktoberfest at Theresienwiese on September 18, 2010 in Munich, Germany.


>>.An overview of the Oktoberfest beer festival at the Theresienwiese in Munich on the evening of September 18, 2010.