Jordyn Crawford puts a tiny umbrella in her sand sculpture at the 30th Annual Saxonburg Arts Festival on Saturday, 9/12/15

Last year, Sprankle's Neighborhood Market brought a taste of Germany to Saxonburg with a small food and beer event, which was confined to the store's parking lot because of COVID-19 restrictions.

This year, that German flavor will be mixed throughout the borough because Sprankle's Octoberfest is combining with the annual Saxonburg Arts Festival for one big event.

According to Doug Sprankle, coordinator of Octoberfest, the event is an adapted version of the real Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany.

“Our event pays tribute to that, but it's Americanized,” Sprankle said. “We're slowly trying to build the tradition. We want to have the overall feeling and kind of transport you to Germany.”

While Octoberfest is an event still in its early years, this will be the 35th year of the Saxonburg Festival of the Arts, which invites artists, crafters and other vendors to display on and around Main Street and the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company's grounds.

Mary Papik, Saxonburg borough manager, said adding the Octoberfest as a simultaneous event has led to the growth of the scale of the festival. “We have more vendors than we have had in the past,” she said. “We're hoping that a lot of people turn out and have a nice safe weekend.”Papik also said there will “be an art and photo show taking place during the festival, a lot of craft-type vendors, caricature artists, photographers, craft foods, lots of kettle corn, maple syrup, hot sauce and a nice assortment of food trucks.”The arts festival has attracted visitors from far and wide in the past because of the variety present.“I have heard estimates of as many as 10,000 to 15,000 people over a two-day event,” Papik said.Where the event will differ most from past years is the addition of Octoberfest.

While some aspects of it will be present around the arts festival, such as the German outfits and some polka music, Sprankle said an 800-square-foot tent will be the main hub of Octoberfest activity. This includes the beer, a large aspect of Oktoberfest. The beer tent will be the only attraction of the event with paid admission, costing a $7 entry fee.Sprankle said he hopes the event will be a unifier for all of Saxonburg. “We wanted an event that includes the entire district of Saxonburg for one big event,” Sprankle said.The coordinated arts festival and Octoberfest take place from 3 to 10 p.m. Sept. 10 and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 11, and then the arts festival continues on its own from noon until 5 p.m. Sept. 12. For more information, visit SpranklesOctoberfest.com or Saxonburgpa.com/festival.