BETHLEHEM MAYOR JOHN CALLAHAN, LOCAL MEDIA & SPORTS TEAMS COME TOGETHER FOR 1^st OKTOBERFEST ‘CELEBRITY SKILLS CHALLENGE’ OCT. 12

Public Invited to Enter Drawing to Be Part of Their Favorite Teams

Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan, members of the Lehigh Valley media and other local ‘celebrities’ are coming together for an afternoon of fun-filled competition during the first Celebrity Skills Challenge at Oktoberfest presented by Yuengling, Oct. 12, noon-3 p.m.  Members of the public are invited to take part in all the fun and festivities by registering for a drawing that will be held to select members of the teams. Registrations may be submitted on the official Oktoberfest website, www.steelstacks.org/oktoberfest, through Sept. 22.

During the Celebrity Skills Challenge, 10-person teams led by Mayor Callahan, Lindsay Knupp of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Bill White of The Morning Call, Dustin Schoof of The Express-Times, Bill Sheridan of 99.9 The Hawk, George Wacker of LehighValleyWithLove.com and Al Di Carlo and Kristi Fulkerson of Service Electric Cable TV will go head to head while competing for year-long bragging rights and the coveted “Boot,” a glass trophy created by the ArtsQuest Glass Studio at the Banana Factory.

Don’t miss contestants as they participate in the stein relay race, race the clock in the beer barrel competition, and try to show a steady hand and nerves of steel while pouring beer from an elevated platform into “Das Boot.” Plus, it’s an endurance test unlike any other when team members take part in Masskrugstemmen, a popular event at German Oktoberfests in which competitors hold a full mug of beer at arm’s length until there’s only one person left standing (or holding).

Anyone interested in being part of the Celebrity Skills Challenge must register online at www.artsquest.org/oktoberfest by Sept. 22.  Each person can register for up to three teams; participants will be chosen at random and registering does not guarantee participation in the event or placement on a team.

ARTSQUEST ANNOUNCES MISS OKTOBERFEST COMPETITION & BAR SKILLS CHALLENGE

They were the hit of Oktoberfest 2012 and they’re back and better than ever this fall!

On Oct. 5 starting at noon, the community is invited to visit Oktoberfest for the second-annual Oktoberfest Bar Skills Challenge, featuring area bars and eateries engaged in an afternoon of hard-fought, fun-filled competition. Watch as contestants roll 30-pound beer barrels, compete in a 50-yard dash while carrying mugs filled with beer and use every muscle in their body to pull a 40,000-pound Yuengling beer truck, all in an effort to capture the Yuengling Traveling Trophy.

Bethlehem’s Tally Ho, winner of the inaugural Oktoberfest Bar Skills Challenge, will be back to defend its crown against 10 other bars including J.P. MacGrady’s, Joe’s Tavern, Machs Gute Pub and Grille, Molly’s Irish Grille & Sports Pub, P.J. Whelihan’s Pub and Restaurant, Pizza Como, Ripper’s Pub, Soto Santi Pizzeria Pub, Starters Clubhouse Grille and The Steel Pub.

At the conclusion of the Bar Skills Challenge, ArtsQuest will also crown the second-annual Miss Oktoberfest. Members of the public are invited to visit www.steelstacks.org/oktoberfest through Sept. 29 to learn more about all of this year’s Miss Oktoberfest candidates and cast their votes for their favorite fraulein.

The third-annual Oktoberfest presented by Yuengling is set for Oct. 4-6 and 11-13 at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. Tickets for the festival, which will include live music, delicious German food, the popular dachshund races and more, are on sale now at www.steelstacks.org/oktoberfest.

The official Oktoberfest pocket schedule, which includes details on this year’s festival highlights and a special Buy One, Get One Free daily admission ticket offer, is also available now. It can be picked up at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem; Banana Factory, 25 W. Third St., Bethlehem; and other locations throughout Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley.