Soon, all across America, the oompah bands will be playing, people will be making themselves look silly doing the Chicken Dance and beer, schnitzel and bratwurst will be consumed literally by the ton.

September and October is Oktoberfest season and fun, food and drink will permeate school gymnasiums, biergartens, auditoriums and tents all over America as people don their derndils and lederhosen in a celebration of suds.

The growth of Oktoberfests in the U. S. has been phenomenal over the past few decades, with more than 1,100 American communities now hosting events, with more than 3,000 Oktoberfests worldwide.

The whole thing began in 1810 as a celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) of Bavaria to Princess Therese Von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The food, the booze, the horse racing and all the accompanying music, dancing and general revelery was a hit with the common folk, so the occasion evolved into an annual celebration.

Now, Oktoberfests are held throughout Germany and many other countries, with Munich (known as Munchen to the natives) still the grandaddy of them all. The 2001 Munich Oktoberfest will be from late September through early October. The 166th annual Munich event in 2001 drew more than 6.8 million people, who drank more than 1.2 million gallons of beer and consumed more than 50 tons of bratwurst, schnitzel, potato salad, red cabbage, etc. The Munich event, featuring its own midway and roller-coaster at its 50-acre site, is billed as the World's Biggest Party. More than 12,000 workers help stage the event.

In America, there are many major Oktoberfest events, but perhaps the biggest is the annual celebration in Cincinnati. Dubbed Oktoberfest-Zinzinati, the Ohio River city event draws more than half a million people over a two-day period in mid-September. More than 90 booths serve German food and drinks and seven stages feature live entertainment. The 27th annual event is set for mid-September at the city's Fountain Square and is being billed as having the World's Largest Chicken Dance and Kazoo Band. The celebration already owns the Guinness Book of Records for most people doing a dance at one time (with about 48,000 doing the arm-flapping Chicken Dance in 1994). Cincinnati has one of the nation's largest and most colorful German neighborhoods, the Over-the-Rhine area. But Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (near Toronto), lays claim as being the biggest North American continent Oktoberfest site, drawing more than 700,000 people to more than 20 sites (festhallens). This year's event is in early October.

Other major annual Oktoberfest events in the U. S. include celebrations in Arlington, Va., Columbus, Ohio, LaCrosse, Wis., Frankenmuth, Mich., Amana, Iowa, Grand Prairie, Tex., Seattle, Tulsa, Torrance, Ca., Leavenworth, Wa., Fort Lauderdale, Helen, Ga., Fredericksburg, Tex., Mount Angel, Ore., Rio Rancho, N. M., and Shiner, Tex.

There are also several unique Oktoberfests around the country, including the Altamont Schuetnenfest in Southern Illinois, featuring a beer garden, German music and trap shooting. Tempe, Ariz., features a celebration that serves Mexican food and cowboy grub and features a country-Western band in addition to the usual German fare.

Several colleges and universities also stage their own Oktoberfests each year, with the Harvard University event at Cambridge, Mass., one of the largest, drawing up to 40,000 annually.

The Frankenmuth, Mich., Oktoberfest is the only American Oktoberfest officially sanctioned by the city of Munich (Frankenmuth received a Certificate of Enoblement from Munich officials in 1995). The town is known as Michigan's Little Bavaria.

Fredericksburg, Tex., founded in 1846 by german settlers, will feature 25 German bands during its festival, Columbus, Ohio, has a 233-acre German community and lays claim as the Polka Capital of America, Tulsa claims more than 22 per cent of its population has German heritage (they are expected to be among about 200,000 taking part in prositing -- toasting -- eating and watching such competitions as beer barrel racing and stein-holding), LaCrosse (which once had eight German breweries) expects about 180,000 people for its Oktoberfest, Mount Angel officials expect about 350,000 for its Oktoberfest, Shriner, Tex., features its own now-famed Shriner Bock beer.

When the last stein has been emptied, the last morsel of apple strudel consumed and the last prosit (toast) offered for 2001, literally tens of millions of Americans will be gemutlichkeit (possessing a lingering feeling of happiness and contentment).

America's Top 20 Oktoberfest events (compiled from ratings from such sources as Real Beer Inc., BeerWeek Magazine, German Life Magazine and the American Bus Association):

1. Cincinnati, Ohio
2. Mount Angel (near Salem), Ore.
3. Tulsa, Okla.
4. Helen, Ga.
5. Columbus, Ohio
6. Shiner, Texas (between San Antonio-Houston)
7. Seattle, Wash.
8. Baltimore, Md.
9. LaCrosse, Wis.
10. Torrance, Calif.
11. Frankenmuth, Mich.
12. Hermann, Mo.
13. Stowe, Vt.
14. Cleveland, Ohio
15. Milwaukee, Wis.
16. Indianapolis, Ind.
17. New York City
18. Pittsburgh, Pa.
19. Atlanta, Ga.
20. Evansville, Ind.

Other notable Oktoberfests in America include:

Albany, Albuquergue, Atlantic City, Austin, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte, Chicago, Clarksville (Tn.), Detroit, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Grand Rapids, Hampton Roads (Va.), Harrisburg, Hartford-New Haven, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Lantana, Fl., Las Vegas, Long Island, Los Angeles, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Providence, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Barbara, St. Louis, Tampa, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Washington, D. C. and West Palm Beach.

This story was published on 15 May 2002.