Helen set to launch annual Oktoberfest celebrations

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Events begin Sept. 5, with parade on Saturday, Sept. 7

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  • An approximate route of the Oktoberfest parade scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7.
    An approximate route of the Oktoberfest parade scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7.
  • The Helen City Commissioners on the City of Helen float in the 2018 Oktoberfest parade. (Photo/Stephanie Hill)
    The Helen City Commissioners on the City of Helen float in the 2018 Oktoberfest parade. (Photo/Stephanie Hill)
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In a little over a week, the longest-running Oktoberfest will kick off in Helen, highlighted by a parade on Saturday, Sept. 7, at noon in downtown.

The 49th annual Oktoberfest begins on Thursday, Sept. 5, with the festivities taking place every weekend in September, before becoming a daily celebration beginning Thursday, Sept. 26.

The parade starts at noon on Edelweiss Strasse near the Helen Festhalle, before turning left onto Chattahoochee Strasse, then a right onto Main Street and into the heart of downtown Helen. The parade will end around Betty’s Country Store.

Because part of the parade goes down Main Street, traffic will be detoured during the parade. Northbound traffic will turn left onto River Street, right onto Unicoi Street, right onto Hamby Street and then left onto Main Street. Southbound traffic will do the opposite, turning right onto Hamby Street, left onto Unicoi Street, left onto River Street and right onto Main Street.

This year’s parade grand marshals are Terry and Harold Link, of Dawsonville. While they don’t live in White County anymore, the couple has been very involved in Helen.

“I think it’s a great honor,” says Terry Link. “We were one of the first ones to come to Helen. We were the first German family that came to Helen in 1976. We built the Old Heidelberg restaurant. We liked it so much and decided to stay. Harold used to play a lot with the old Heidelberg band at Oktoberfest. Harold, my husband, and Chris Hammerson started Fasching up there. Harold played at a lot of Fasching events in Germany and thought we should do it here.”

Oktoberfest will run Sept. 5-8, Sept. 12-15, Sept. 19-22, and Sept. 26 to Oct. 27. Festhalle admission is $8 Monday through Friday, $10 on Saturdays and free on Sundays. Kids ages 6-12 are half off, and kids under 6 years old are free.

Celebration times are weekdays from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Fridays from 6 p.m. to midnight, Saturdays from 1 p.m. to midnight, and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, visit helenchamber.com.

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