German Oktoberfest Returns to The Cabana

There’s no resting in Long Beach after Irish Day on Saturday. 

The following day, on Oct. 7, Long Beach German Oktoberfest will return to the Cabana, where the annual festival was started by owner Bob Johnson six years ago, after a one-year stint at Sweet Retreat ice cream shop last year. 

“It piggybacked on Irish Day at The Cabana and eventually it grew into its own separate weekend,” said Andrew Hetzler, a lifelong Long Beach resident who helped organize the festival. “ … Regardless of being the day after Irish Day, we anticipate a great crowd as we always have.”

The Oct. 7 date was also also chosen because the following day is a holiday, Columbus Day, when many people take off from work. By promoting the event on Facebook and through word of mouth, Hetzler expects, or hopes for, a crowd of 800 or more revelers. The event has grown each year since its inception, when a hundred people turned out. 

Come Sunday, The Cabana, a Mexican-American establishment at 1034 W. Beech St., will instead serve authentic German food and beer by Paulaner, a German brewing company that sponsors the event. German dance clubs, dressed in garb reminiscent of the homeland, will perform to the tunes of an Oompah band, and games, contests and giveaways will be included. 

This year, local bars are donating kegs to the event. And for the second consecutive year, City of Long Beach officials will make a presentation and proclaim Oct. 7 “German-American Day in Long Beach.” 

“Our event has always had a great relationship with the City of Long Beach, who have been very supportive since the beginning,” Hetzler said. Past Grand Marshals have included former City Council President Thomas Sofield Jr., and Larry Elovich, the late chairman of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. 

The goal, Hetzler said, is to one day have a city-wide celebration with a turn-out on a scale like Irish Day, a parade and festival that has been held in the West End on the first Saturday of October for more than 20 years.

“We are especially optimistic given the vast number of Long Beach residents with German backgrounds,” said Hetzler, who cited stats that say one in four Americans has German ancestry.

When Hetzler was growing up, his father, William, was active in many German-American groups, and he attended many German community events across New York and Long Island with him. For about 20 years, William was the general chairman of the great German-American Steuben Parade on 5th Avenue in New York City.

“So growing up so immersed, I developed a real love for my German heritage and culture,” said Hetzler, who attended college in Heidelberg, Germany. 

Hetzler's mother is Irish and he has attended Irish Day through the years. One year, he got the idea: “What if we brought a little bit of the great German culture to Long Beach to celebrate this popular local heritage and the grand contributions that were made to this country by Americans of German descent?”

Six years later, after the first festival, Hetzler points to the support he has gained from the City Council, the Long Beach Bar Owners Association and, most importantly to him, the Long Beach residents, evidenced by the growing number of people attending the Oktoberfest each year.