It was the first day of fall and most of the seven contestants in the stein-holding contest at Sertoma’s Oktoberfest were straining to hold a liter of “bier” upright.
But three-time winner Sally Chaphart seemed unfazed on Sunday as her competitors dropped out one by one until it was just her and Minden resident Todd Kirchoff.
Kirchoff was had just won the costume contest, but it would take more than a feathered cap and a pair of lederhosen to keep Chaphart from the crown.
“I don’t know,” Chaphart said of her technique. “I use my right arm a lot.”
Carson Valley Sertoma has been hosting Oktoberfest for decades as a fundraiser for the service club’s causes.
Autumn officially arrived in Carson Valley on Sunday morning.
On Saturday, Valley native Laurie Hickey conducted a tour of the Genoa Cemetery for a handful of history buffs.
Artists of the East Fork Gallery have been collecting old copies of The Record-Courier to repurpose as stuffing for their annual Scarecrow Festival. Last year, more than 200 scarecrows joined the population of Carson Valley in the 35-year-old celebration of fall.
This will be the fifth year that the artists team up with Main Street Gardnerville for the annual Slaughterhouse Lane Coffin Races and Fall Festival 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 5.
There’s still another Oktoberfest and a tour of the Garden Cemetery coming up in Nevada’s 160th birth month.
Genoans are hosting Oktoberfest 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 19 at Genoa Town Park. Douglas County Historical Society Docents will lead family friendly tours 3-5 p.m. Oct. 19 of the cemetery in Gardnerville. Tickets are available at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center, 1477 Main St. in Gardnerville or by phone at 775-782-2555.
The following weekend, the entire Silver State celebrates its 160th birthday on Oct. 26 with the Nevada Day Parade in Carson City.
Numerous Douglas County entries participate in the weekend’s celebration, touted by organizers as “the largest celebration of statehood in the nation.”