BALDWINSVILLE — German teacher Ben Gerardi is resurrecting a B’ville tradition: Oktoberfest.
The festival returns Oct. 22 as a fundraiser for Our Apiary, a local nonprofit that promotes language learning opportunities.
“I thought I would try my hand at bringing it back, kind of being the community lightning rod for all things German,” said Gerardi, who teaches in the Baldwinsville Central School District.
Instead of hosting several businesses at one centralized location, Gerardi has modeled Oktoberfest after events like the Baldwinsville Volunteer Center’s Margaritafest or the B’ville Big Chill’s Poker Bear Express Pub Crawl. Participants purchase a $10 event passport and receive free samples of food or beverages at a dozen participating businesses. There will be nonalcoholic and kid-friendly treats as well.
Among the establishments who have signed on are JessiCakes, Angry Smokehouse, San Miguel Mexican Bar and Grill, Bee You and Sweet Dream Candy Shoppe. Each eatery will put its own spin on German delicacies.
“You can vote for your top three places. There’s a healthy competitive vibe,” Gerardi said. “[It will be an] interesting challenge of German cuisine, especially given the abundance of Italian places.”
Oktoberfest attendees who check off at least eight locations on their passports will receive an entry for a prize drawing.
Our Apiary is an extracurricular organization that provides world language tutoring and lessons for Baldwinsville-area students. Over the summer, the nonprofit offered a series of world language study sessions at the Baldwinsville Public Library. Our Apiary is planning two European trips for 2023: one will go to Spain in April and the other will tour Germany and Italy in July. Dozens of Durgee and Baker students and teachers have signed on.
“I am super looking forward to it. I know the kids are too, and I feel like it’s not just motivating them in terms of their studies but something to look forward to for their mental health. It’s been years and years of bad news,” said Gerardi, noting that the Germany-Italy trip was supposed to take place in 2020 but was delayed because of the pandemic.
Gerardi’s German students are looking forward to meeting their pen pals in person.
“For some of these kids, they legitimately make friends with these German students. They’ll message them on social media daily. They’ll come in and show me pictures,” he said.
The best way to learn another language, Gerardi said, is immerse oneself into the culture.
“I know what students need. It’s immersion and experiences, but on the other hand it’s prohibitively expensive,” he said.
In addition to funding travel for local students, Our Apiary provides grants for Baldwinsville-area language teachers to purchase video-conferencing equipment and other classroom technology. Educators can visit ourapiary.com/services to learn more or apply.
Our Apiary is in search of volunteers and sponsors to expand the tutoring program and connect language learners in B’ville. Gerardi also wants to match skilled high school language students with younger students who are just starting to learn another language.
“As a community, I think we could probably do better to connect people who are learning English with people who are learning Spanish or another language,” Gerardi said. “There’s so many languages spoken in Baldwinsville. I’ve learned that as an English as a New Language teacher. There are lots of Ukrainian and Russian [speakers].”
To learn more about Our Apiary, visit ourapiary.com or follow Our Apiary Inc 501-c3 on Facebook.
Oktoberfest in B’ville takes place from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at participating establishments in the village of Baldwinsville. For more information, visit oktoberfestbville.com or facebook.com/oktoberfestbville.