Oktoberfest, sutler faire and brilliant foliage draw crowds to Lake George

Mild weather, autumn leaves and a full slate of activities brought thousands to the shores of Lake George this Columbus Day weekend. The Village of Lake George Oktoberfest opened Friday evening with German music and a beer garden taking center stage in the middle of Canada Street in front of Shepard Park. Battlefield Park on beach road was the scene of Fort William Henry’s French and Indian War encampment at sutler faire on Saturday and Sunday.  Charles R. Wood Park, adjacent to the battlefield, rocked all day Saturday with Rocktoberfest, a music festival hosted by King Neptune’s Pub.

Although it has been several weeks since Labor Day and the unofficial end of the summer season, a festival- packed autumn has extended the Lake George tourist season well into October.  Next Saturday, Oct. 18, Adirondack Pub and Brewery will hold their Oktoberfest for Charity. This will be the last major outdoor event of the year. January 2015 will open with the Polar Plunge, marking the official opening of the Lake George Winter Carnival season.

For the 5th Annual German Oktoberfest and Fall Festival, the Village lifted its outdoor open container ban and closed a section of its main thoroughfare to traffic allowing revelers to hoist a glass of craft beer in the middle of what is normally a traffic-filled route.

Under the big tent, oom-pah bands played as patrons loaded up their plates with sausages, German potato salad, sauerkraut, Bavarian pretzels and apple strudel.

Arts and crafts and food vendors lined the sidewalk in front of Shepard Park and bounce houses filled the lawn of the old courthouse. The festival included pony rides, children’s activities and games. Adults competed in keg tossing, stein hoisting and keg rolling competitions. Saturday night’s festivities were capped by a fireworks display over the lake. The festival continued through dusk on Sunday.

A dry September accelerated the arrival of peak fall foliage in the mountains surrounding the Queen of American Lakes. Here a visitor to Lake George looks across the Southern Basin to French Mountain.

British, French and Indian reenactors gathered in Battlefield Park this weekend, setting up an encampment with cooking demonstrations, military drills and skirmishes. Fort William Henry Museum organized the encampment and sutlers faire. Next weekend, Oct. 18-19, is Community Appreciation Weekend at the museum with free admission for two adults and two children with proof of residency of Warren, Washington, Saratoga and Essex County.

The sutler faire brought period vendors to Battlefield Park selling food, clothing, and colonial-era handicrafts. Sutlers are private merchants that followed armies, selling provisions to the soldiers.