Blue Rock Oktoberfest

Craft marketers had their stalls set up as early as 7 o’clock in the morning and had a variety of products ranging from hand crafted jewelry to home décor artifacts. The Beer fest tent was fully functional awaiting the set time of 11am to officially start selling alcohol. New and old visitors to Blue Rock were very excited to be the first to witness a multi- dimensional festival which incorporated sport in the form of wakeboarding and skateboarding with craft breweries and craft markets. No one was disappointed.

The day kicked off with a “Game of thrones” wakeboarding competition in the morning where riders got the opportunity to showcase their riding techniques as well as their tricks on the obstacles. Wake boarders from as far as Knysna made their way to Blue Rock just to take part in the Game of Thrones competition. Each competitor had 3 runs to perform their tricks. Tricks shown had to be a combination of spins, flips and raley tricks preformed on flat-water, kicker and rails.
The Golden Egg is the Novice who has improved the most over the last 2 years as well as pushing his limit in the comp. This is a vital award, because it pushes Novices to the limit and shows South Africans the new young guns in wakeboarding. The entire competition was in association with Monster Energy, who did a great job with activating the entire event. Monster Energy also set up a skate ramp and had the Monster professional skateboarders doing a demo for the public’s entertainment.

Although it was a windy day, gates opened for the Beer fest and the queue to enter Blue Rock was winding down the N2 as patrons all wanted to get into the resort for the festival. With a crowd of over 1500 in attendance, the weather did not discourage more people from coming through to witness and enjoy the day’s events. Huddled up around several bonfires, in full view of all aspects of the day, everyone was well protected from the cold.

The band Jamie Oddline, kick started the Beer fest with a bang. As people walked into the Beer Fest tent they were welcomed by the Blue Rock ladies who were dressed in traditional German Dirndls. They could then have a tasting from each of the 8 beer stalls and be seated in full view of the live bands that were on the lineup for the day. A total of 28 craft beers were on show and over a thousand litres of craft beer were dispensed throughout the day. The beer stalls present were, Stellenbrau, Windermere, Wild clover, Boston, Red sky, Birkenhead, Everson cider and Yasigis Beer Garden.5 bands performed live, during the day namely, Jamie Oddline, Gerald Clark, The professors, Red Helen and to stay true to the Beer fest theme, we also had a live, a German Oompah band, Wurtzipfel who entertained the crowd with a variety of Folk music.

The Helderberg Animal welfare had a station where gifts and donations were dropped off. Blue Rock is still open for donations to the Animal welfare. So anyone can drop off blankets and pet food for the association. As usual, the Blue Rock restaurant was busy preparing a variety of culinary feasts.

As the day progressed, the crowd called for beer drinking games. Arm wrestling saw a total of 18 contenders, including 4 ladies, vying for the prize of being the strongest. The beer hamper however, went to Durban based Randall Patel, who proved unbeatable on the table.

A break was taken however for the official prize giving for the “Game of Thrones” competition. Walking away with R3000 cash and the title of King of the Gold throne was Gregor Reichmuth who was the best overall rider of the day. He is also ranked no.1 amongst South African wake boarders. The Black throne and prize money of R 2000 went to Dylan Mitchell who was the best technical rider and Marius Labuschagne was crowned the Black Knight and got prize money of R800. The most improved rider was 11 year old Nikolai Coetzee, who was crowned the Golden Egg and got a R200 prize. The aim of these wakeboarding competitions is to promote the sport and prove the accessibility to those who live in and around Cape Town.

The evening continued with the beer pong competitions and the winning pair was Marius Labuschagne and his partner Charl .Prizes for the Best Beer fest outfits included a tour for three people at Stellenbrau Brewery in Stellenbosch and beer hampers. Music from The Professors and Red Helen maintained the crowds’ jovial mood for the remainder of the night.

The Blue Rock Oktoberfest was a resounding success and a unique experience, setting the foundation for an annual Festival that incorporates sport and recreation at a very high level. Much appreciation however, goes to the partners of the event, being the 8 breweries as well as Monster Energy, who undoubtedly did a fantastic job making sure the event was as successful as it was. A phenomenal event and ground breaker in the field outdoor events, the success of the Blue Rock Oktoberfest should be marked nothing less than epic!

So mark your calendars, next year same time, the Blue Rock Oktoberfest, goes bigger.

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