Racing wieners, slithering snakes, and a street full of vendors, fancy cars, musical entertainment, chili and numerous prize drawings filled the streets of Stafford for the 20th annual Stafford Oktoberfest Saturday.
Emcee, DJ Cain, Humphrey, said Stafford must have an in with somebody in the weather department as the festival enjoyed a one-day window of warm and calm weather after a brisk start to the day. Humphrey, now a Salina resident, is a class of 92 alumni of Stafford High School and serves as the downtown festival’s narrator for the parade and day’s events.
“I enjoy coming back home to do this,” Humphrey said. “We’ve really been lucky with good weather the past several years.”
This year along with the usual musical entertainment on the downtown stage, Humphrey worked as track announcer for the first annual wiener dog races.
Organizer Julynn Whitlock said they event went pretty well for it’s first year with 30 contestants entering the short slender pooches in a 15-yard drag race.
“It was a learning experience this year,” she said. “It went pretty well, and we had a lot of out-of-town wieners.”
The winner of the first annual race was Jack, a dachshund from Hoisington, who took first in his heat race and the finals. Jack’s owner, Pamela Henning said Jack raced at Kansas City in the KC Wiener dog Nationals.
“He did terrible there,” she said. “He was one of 64 dogs, and you got to race through a raffle drawing.”
The winning dog received 50 dollars with 30 for second, and 15 for third. The top three also received plaques and a custom made doggy sweater from Carol Kelsey of Stafford. Molly, owned by Jim Seagrave, Stafford took second, and Hotto, owned by Bill and Lila Shoemaker of Stafford won third.
Whitlock plans to hold the event next year with a few changes like moving the course to a grass lot instead of in front of the main stage on Broadway Street.
“I want to thank everyone that helped with the first race,” she said. “Next year it will be even better.”
After the wieners left the staging area, slithering snakes had young old and old wide-eyed as Brian Bartels from Fort Hays State University’s Sternberg Museum showed off several snakes indigenous to the central Kansas. Bartels explained the different markings and characteristics of the native snakes and explained that snakes should be respected, but not feared.
“If you see one of these snakes, you don’t need to scream and run away,” he said. “Just leave them alone and walk away.”
He explained the positive aspects of the different types, and pointed out the only poisonous type common to the area was the Massassauga rattlesnake, - a small snake resembling a hognose snake.
“On a day like yesterday when the wind was blowing very hard, you probably won’t be able to hear this guys rattles so you need to keep an eye out for them,” he said.
Bartels told the crowd, the bull snake, a large snake common to this area, will often imitate rattlesnakes by shaking their tail, and making a noise with their mouth that sounds like a rattlesnake.
Before and after the demonstration children and some adults lined the sidewalk by the display for a chance to hold the non-venomous samples Bartels brought along.
Oktoberfest celebrated its 20th straight year with the new events, and some new children’s rides. The American Legion Riders raffled off a Mossberg camo shotgun, and held a motor blow in honor of fallen members John Street and Robbie Clark. A Pontiac T6000 was the victim of the motor blow. The engine was drained of oil and ran until it locked up, which took just under three minutes.
“It went well,” said Oktoberfest committee president Skip Allen. “We had a great turnout, good weather and some new events for the 20th year.”
Allen said the festival costs $5,000 to put on each year. Money is raised through button sales, corporation donations, food auctions and soup suppers.
“Some years we make enough to cover it some years we don’t and we hold these other events to make up for it,” he said.
Allen has been with the committee for 10 years. Brenda Fuller his helper at the button booth was the last remaining member of the original committee serving on it for all of the last 20 years.
Faye Potter, a 1934 graduate of Stafford High School, was another at the festival with a long history of attendance.
“I was going to come up and run in the 5K race,” she said. “But I’ve had problems with my knee.”
The 93-year-old said she ran her last 5K at the age of 90 when she ran with four generations of her family. She currently lives in Shawnee Mission.
“I’m just really grateful for how blessed I am,” she said. “And I still hope next year I can come back and run in the race again.”
