Hankinson celebrates 21st annual Oktoberfest

HANKINSON, N.D. (KVRR) — Grab your beers and line up your brats for Hankinson’s 21st annual Oktoberfest!

“Hankinson is all about events and finding gatherings and celebrating our small town. This is what makes us special versus Fargo or any other larger community. We do something different here and that’s what Hankinson’s about,” said Ryan Wallock, the Vice President of the Hankinson Commerical Club.

On Saturday, hundreds head to Hankinson on the last day of September to take in some German culture.

“September 30, or the last Saturday in September is, like I’ve said, we’ve had all this beautiful weather. That’s why we chose the Oktoberfest, which we get a lot of grief, because we’re having Oktoberfest in September. But that’s the real McCoy. That’s what they do in Germany,” said Beth Tiegs, the treasurer of the Hankinson Commercial Club.

Locals called for a special occasion to celebrate their heritage.

“We started with this 21 years ago to give honor to our German ethnicity in the community. We also have Norwegian and others…. It’s a fun day to give community appreciation.”

Everyone’s allowed to join in on the fun no matter what background.

“It’s about bringing us together and, yeah, you don’t have to be German. You don’t have to be Norwegian to be here. It’s all about celebrating what we do great as a town.”

Hankinson locals say they’re proud of how much bigger their Oktoberfest celebration has gotten over the years.