Oktoberfest draws crowd despite drizzly weather

Sasha, 4, didn't seem to mind being dressed as a ladybug for the pet parade Saturday at Jackson's Oktoberfest celebration.

Her owner, Angela Shell of Jackson, said the fuzzy, brown Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix is used to wearing clothes.

"She won't leave the house unless she has a dress or something on," said Shell, who wore a matching ladybug costume, complete with sparkly red antennae.

Shell said she often shows Sasha several outfits and lets her choose the one she wants to wear.

"If I don't put the one on her that she picked, she will shake and cry," she said.

Despite light rain and temperatures in the 50s Saturday afternoon, a sizable pack of dogs and their owners turned out for the parade.

A woman in a German dress hoisted a mug of beer as her dachshund trotted beside her, dressed as a sausage. Another mutt sported a shaggy wig and a tie-dyed T-shirt, while Toby, a 1-year-old schnauzer, joined the fun in a taco costume, and Squirt, a 2-year-old rat terrier, dressed as a dinosaur.

Toby's owner, Christie Reisenbichler of Jackson, said an earlier costume possibility -- Chewbacca -- didn't meet the dog's approval.

"He was like, 'Um. Not happening,'" she said.

Squirt wasn't keen on keeping her head under the hood of her costume, her owner said.

"She's not crazy about the hat," Jessica McIntosh of Cape Girardeau said.

Heather Miller of Gordonville and her dog, Mia, were named best-dressed duo in their matching German-style dresses.

"She's been good. She's been tolerating this all day," Miller said of the 9-month-old pit bull-Dalmatian mix.

The cool, drizzly weather favored some vendors more than others Saturday: A shaved-ice truck wasn't drawing much interest, but people lined up for coffee.

The wet pavement made the colors brighter as 8-year-old Grace Newell and several other children made chalk drawings on the sidewalk in front of the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse.

As she worked on a drawing of a butterfly, Grace ruminated on the transient nature of her medium.

"Whenever it starts raining, this isn't going to be here," she said with a shrug, apparently unfazed by that knowledge.

Bob Schooley, Oktoberfest chairman, said the rain discouraged festivalgoers Saturday morning, but by afternoon, the crowds picked up.

"The rain kept a few people away this morning, but now that it's cleared, I think people are out," he said. " ... This drizzle doesn't really bother anybody."

Alex Skelton, craft brand manager for Bluff City Beer and a festival organizer, had his own theory on the weather.

"The rain is the tears of past Oktoberfest drinkers that are sad they couldn't be here," he said, laughing.

Schooley said between 3,000 and 4,000 people turned out for Oktoberfest last year -- many arriving later in the evening -- and he expected as many as 7,000 to participate this year.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Jackson, Mo.