Samantha Hedin/ Winonan

Oktoberfest is an event held at locations all across America, including Winona’s next door neighbor La Crosse. This festival, based off of the world’s largest funfair held annually in Germany, is widely attended by many.

For a few Winona State students, there were different opinions concerning Oktoberfest and how much enjoyment it provides.

Logan Wescott, a Winona State student, had nothing but good things to say about his first experience at Oktoberfest on Friday, Sept. 26 in La Crosse, Wis.

“It was crazy. I loved it, except the morning after,” Wescott said, “There wasn’t much I didn’t like because it’s a really friendly environment. I would definitely go again and if you like to party until you can’t anymore, I recommend going.”

Alaina Zimmermann, another participant in the festival and a junior at Winona State, attended Oktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 27.

“Oktoberfest has tons of energy and everyone is out celebrating,” Zimmermann said. “You often don’t see communities buzzing with so much activity.”

Like many others, Zimmermann took note of the drinking that often takes place at Oktoberfest.

“The parties start at 8:30 a.m. and people are hanging off balconies and out of windows while jamming to music. The whole town is loud,” Zimmermann said. “People are dressed in obnoxious and also clever outfits.”

While the scene of Oktoberfest is full of energy and widely anticipated, not everyone is a fan. Kayla Brisbin, a graduate of Winona State, ended up at Oktoberfest her junior year of college and she said she, “absolutely hated it.” She had gone to pick up a drunken friend, getting a taste of what it was all about.

“I dropped what I was doing and went to pick her up. But, she didn’t want to leave yet. We hung around for about two hours before we finally left,” Brisbin said. “I hated it all. I was sick of all the drunk people. The vibe was very off. People were just not acting themselves. They were doing stupid things to get people’s attention.”

Brisbin said she would never consider attending Oktoberfest again, even if circumstances were different.

While some thoroughly enjoyed themselves at this high-energy event, others found it quite unappealing. The differing opinions of Oktoberfest provide varying outlooks on whether the festival is worth attending in the future.