The Medford Business Association (MBA) will host its annual Medford Oktoberfest & Music Festival on Friday, Sept. 20, from 5 to 9 p.m., and on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 1 to 9 p.m. at Freedom Park.
Considered Medford’s “biggest party of the year,” the two-day festival is organized and promoted by the MBA. Parking and admission are free, and the event is open to all ages. Free parking is available at Freedom Park and surrounding areas. Shuttle buses will also run from the Sharp’s Run Plaza parking lot on Route 70 and from Medford Village.
Both days will include a second music stage located in one of Freedom Park’s large open-air gazebos. Friday is indie night on the Archerlaw Stage, featuring performances by Romaine, Mars Counsel and Tim W. Smith. Friday’s festivities will open at 5 p.m. with rockers from the Medford campus of the New Jersey School of Music performing classic hits.
The festival will feature 20 musical artists on two stages. Friday night’s lineup will bring a dance party to the Cornerstone PEO Stage with the legendary South Jersey party band Don’t Call Me Francis headlining. Country rock artist Kenny Curcio will open Friday’s show, with line dancing starting at 5:15 p.m.
The Weeklings will headline the main Cornerstone PEO stage on Saturday. The band’s Beatles-inspired, power-pop originals have earned them eight Coolest Sing in the World designations on Little Steven’s Underground Garage on Sirius XM. The Weeklings will take the stage around 7:15 p.m. Saturday’s main stage will also include live performances by Taylor Kelly, The Tisburys, The Foes of Fern, Sug Daniels & The Sweet Boys and Von Roz.
“Every year we keep adding something new,” said event chair Theresa Freedman. “We started out with one stage then we went to two stages to three stages. Now we’re back down to the two stages, but we have a lot of food vendors, a lot of businesses … We now have a Stein holding competition which links us now with the fall festival in Medford that happens a month after.”
The Bavarian stein holding competition – sponsored by King’s Road Brewing Company and sanctioned by the US Steinholding Association – will return on both Friday and Saturday. One man and one woman will qualify to advance to the state finals in October at the Feed Mill in Medford. Interested participants can sign up in person at the event while spots last.
The Magnify Brewing Company Bratwurst Eating Contest will also return to the festival, with local “celebrities” competing for charity to see who can eat a loaded bratwurst the fastest.
Oktoberfest will also feature a massive beer tent and garden sponsored by Taunton Forge Liquors with well-known national and international brands and Oktoberfest brews, plus local crafts from all the township’s breweries. Over a dozen food vendors will be on site offering a variety of options, including traditional German food favorites.
Live German music also returns to the festival, with Doppelganger performing traditional German folk tunes and re-imagined popular songs at various points throughout the festival grounds on Saturday.
“This year we’ve got a lot of things,” noted volunteer Mark Oberstaedt. “We haven’t had German music in a few years … We’ve added German dancing, line dancing, swing dancing, so we have a swing band coming in. We’ve got a country band coming in, so there’s going to be plenty of opportunities for people to dance to different types of music.”
This year’s festival will feature two new events on Saturday. The United Cornhole Federation will host a double elimination tournament with cash prizes. Interested players can sign up as individuals or teammates on the Scoreholio app. Medford’s Lower Forge Brewery will hold a trivia contest where attendees can participate on their personal devices.
Children of all ages are welcome to attend both festival days, and there will be special activities just for them on Saturday. This year, the popular business fair will be held on both days, with local businesses, crafters, artisans and more.
“We really support (the) business community, both in Medford and also our members in the surrounding areas,” explained Lesha Moore, executive director of the MBA, of the organization. “The business expo that’s a part of the event really helps support that business community and gives them the opportunity to be able to showcase what they do to the public.
“And since we do get about 10,000 or more visitors to the event, that’s a great place for them to really communicate with the visitors and bring awareness to what they do to the community.”
Saturday’s Archerlaw Stage lineup will feature a variety of musical styles that will include something for everyone. Headlining the night is the pop punk band All Systems Go, who will be preceded by fellow pop punkers Valendina. The stage will also see a special performance by Swing That Cat, with all festival attendees encouraged to join the swing dancing fun on the dance floor, led by Jazz Attack from Philadelphia.
Oktoberfest favorites The Gender Gnomes will return, possibly with a special guest, and Asbury Park-based The DTs and local cover band The Loan Rangers will perform as well. Students from Today’s Dance Center will showcase German folk dances on Saturday at the Archerlaw Stage.
“The other aspect of it, too, that I love,” Moore enthused. “The whole music factor of it, it’s supporting the music arts, and that’s something that I just think is a wonderful aspect.”
‘Our event, while it’s important that it’s a big tourist event,” Freedman said, “it brings a lot of people from the outside to Medford. I feel that it helps us showcase the Medford breweries, the Medford businesses a lot …
“It really helps.”
“I think one of the things that people realize when they get there is just, it’s a really positive, happy vibe,” Oberstaedt opined. “You never see people angry, you don’t have people who are anxious about things. “It’s a really great atmosphere.”
Along with the MBA, the Medford Oktoberfest and Music Festival is sponsored by Taunton Forge Liquors, Cornerstone PEO, ShopRite of Medford, Archer & Greiner, Innovative Catering Concepts, Medford Mini-Storage, PNC Bank, King’s Road Brewing Company, Lower Forge Brewery, Magnify Brewing Company and Today’s Dance Center.
For more information, visit www.medfordbusiness.org or www.medfordoktoberfest.com.
