Special to Metromix: Kicking Off Oktoberfest with Beers & Biers!

Denver taps the first keg, and there's plenty more where that came from!
Credit: Juliana Broste
Special to Metromix
Published on Metromix.com on September 17, 2010

Grab your dirndls, your lederhosen, and your accordion...it's time for Oktoberfest 2010! Denverites wasted no time to start guzzling down grog, following the ceremonial tapping of the first keg. Samuel Adams Brewery founder Jim Koch raised the first stein, toasting to a long-loved tradition far and wide. Larimer Street was filled with bier and Bavarian goodies, with concession stands serving everything from goulash and spätzle to strudel and other sugary sweets! Plus, live music by Edelweiss, Filthy Children and the PolkaNauts gave weekenders a reason to boogie, or polka, for that matter!

Catch more Oktoberfest fun during two jam-packed weekends, September 17-19 and 24-26. You'll find the party on Larimer Street between 20th and 22nd street in downtown Denver.

Click here to read the full article: Kicking Off Oktoberfest with Beers & Biers!
http://denver.metromix.com/events/photogallery/kicking-off-oktoberfest-denver/2192624/content

Cyn Wag is one of my best friends from childhood. She rocked t-shirts, Umbro shorts, and Samba shoes like no other, back in the day. She was the Wayne Gretsky of our soccer team turned Jersey of Coyote Ugly; a tomboy turned club-going sorority girl! She was the backbone of the LUVAS clan, the heroine in the 9 Lives saga, and a devoted Dixie Chicks fan through and through. It was my pleasure to see her wed to her boyfriend of nine years, Pat, at Evergreen Lake this September.

It was wonderful to attend the wedding and reunite with my best friends from that time of my life. Though we've kept in touch over the years, it felt great to sit around the same table and laugh like young teenagers.

Bryn and I were most excited to reunite our beau's Jeremy and Dave, two Scotch-tasting, beer-drinking connoisseurs, who couldn't get along better!

And best of all, my little bro, the one who used to kick and bang on my door when Cyndi and I were playing inside, was hired as wedding photographer! It was nice for Cyndi to hire my brother and his friend Scott, and I hope she loves her photos. They really do kick-ass job, and they cover weddings as a tag team. www.k2photostudio.com


We had a grand old time at the reception (some, grander than others).








Congrat's, Cyndi and Pat!!!

Chowing Down at the Minnesota State Fair

Having been to Minnesota dozens of times to visit relatives, it's surprising that I'd never once been to the Minnesota State Fair! So, being that this trip happened to fall over Labor Day weekend, I was determined to partake in this truly American tradition.

My goal was to stuff my face with as many strange and unusual foods as my stomach could handle. Heck, after working on the Food Network's Unwrapped, studying the most popular and the most unusual things to put in one's mouth, I considered the Minnesota State Fair an easy day of research! We've put the spotlight on deep fried pizza and chocolate covered crickets and even jello molds shaped like your face, but finally, it was my turn to taste the most creative creations.

First off, spaghetti and meatballs...on a stick! They folded the noodles into the meatball, and even dipped it with a garlic bread batter!

Up next, hot, salty, deep fried cheese curds. These things are deadly. Hell yeah.



Deep fried pickles...Ohh, if only the line wasn't a mile long!

Apple Cinnamon Wine Ice Cream. Creamy deliciousness.


Ever had chocolate covered bacon? I'm not sure I would recommend this. Cold bacon. Dark chocolate. Two great things that just seem to cancel each other out to make one calorie-filled nothing-burger.

But who could resist deep fried Twinkies! On a stick. It's not complete without the stick.


And plenty other Minnesota favorites. Uffda!

And though there were no deep fried sticks of butter, we did find Princess Kay of the Milky Way! That's right, beauty queens sculpted of giant hunks of butter!





But the Minnesota State Fair is not ONLY about food.

They've got livestock.

And machinery.

Big ass pumpkins.

Newborn piggies. And a 1,450 pound boar named Reggie.

Rusty metal. (This artwork was created out of litter found in the river...can you find the carburetor?)

Fine art.

Art made of seeds. Baked goods as art.

And an impressive spinning view of the fairgrounds and the twin cities!

Oh, what a wonderful day at the fair!

There's always time for a game of Croquet