Dan Harvey, of Cabot, competes in the men's finals of the second annual Sprankle’s Octoberfest Steinholding Competition on in 2022 in Saxonburg. Butler Eagle File Photo

For the second time in less than a year, local businessman Doug Sprankle has announced a change in venue for the annual Sprankle’s Octoberfest, scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 6. Now the event is set for Lernerville Speedway in Buffalo Township.

“The Tomson family, who owns the track, has been a big part of this community for a long time,” Sprankle said. “We saw value in joining forces for Octoberfest for the betterment of not just Butler County, but surrounding areas.”

Sprankle added that Lernerville would be the new permanent home for Octoberfest for the foreseeable future.

“We hope to continue to work with the Tomson family for years to come,” Sprankle said.

This year’s Octoberfest was originally planned to be held at Sprankle’s new event venue at Sprankle Woods, which opened to the public this May and is still being actively developed. While Sprankle Woods has already held events, such as the West Fest in July, it will not serve as the host for Octoberfest.

Another concern for Sprankle is disagreements with Jefferson Township, which has cited him repeatedly for breaches of the township ordinance, such as failure to receive a stormwater permit.

“With the current relationship I have with the township, we are nervous that they’ll continue to be overzealous in applying laws and stipulations to try to hinder, if not cancel the event,” Sprankle said. “That’s why we chose to move it to Lernerville.”

During the monthly supervisors meeting on Monday, Aug. 12, there was a motion to “initiate legal action/proceedings to restrain, correct or abate violations of the Township Code of Ordinances” against the owners of Sprankle Woods. However, supervisors voted to table the motion.

The Sprankle Woods property straddles four townships: Jefferson, Winfield, Clinton and Buffalo.

Sprankle also said that, unlike Lernerville, his facility doesn’t have the infrastructure to host an event on the scale of Octoberfest.

“With their infrastructure, it’s a lot easier to do a bigger event than it is at Sprankle Woods,” Sprankle said.

He said the decision to move this year’s Octoberfest to Lernerville was actually made roughly six months ago, but was only publicly announced recently, and banners have appeared at the speedway in recent weeks.

Despite the shifting setting, Sprankle is confident this year’s Octoberfest will be the most successful yet.

“This is going to be the biggest Octoberfest ever,” Sprankle said.

Sprankle’s Octoberfest began in 2019, and held its first five events at the Saxonburg Vounteer Fire Company carnival grounds. Aside from hosting events, the Sprankle family owns a series of independent grocery stores, one of which is located on West Water Street in Saxonburg.