Estacada commission finalizes many Oktoberfest details as volunteers and publicity remain priorities

The Downtown Estacada Commission on Sept. 25 discussed logistics, publicity and volunteer staffing for the city’s upcoming Oktoberfest, including a donated photo-op arch, vendor counts and a new city communications contact to handle event promotion.

The discussion matters because Oktoberfest occupies Broadway, involves downtown businesses and volunteers, and requires coordination of barricades, electrical access and on-site management that the commission said must prioritize safety and business access.

Ray Eiseley, who emailed the commission and identified herself as affiliated with Fated Events, offered a complimentary photo-op setup for the festival and described the props she could bring. “She has a beautiful white mountain arch that has its 2 pieces, and she was thinking about putting up an Oktoberfest banner in between with some faux hop bundles and, pumpkins or something like that,” the commission reported, summarizing Eiseley’s message.

Commission members gave several operational updates: organizers said three local bands are scheduled and a folk-dance performer will recruit children; vendor uptake stood at about 23 vendor spaces with four food vendors and room for roughly 28–29 total; one food vendor and one other vendor require electrical hookups; the bookmobile will need two dedicated slots. Organizers also said they would reserve a large decorative chair used seasonally (noted as the same chair used later for Santa) and that T-shirt orders for event staff were pending confirmation from a supplier named Theresa.

The commission discussed public-safety and business-access tradeoffs when placing vendor booths. One member said the commission would keep booths facing the street, as in the prior year, to avoid narrow curbside walkways that could cause safety hazards, while leaving space between booths so pedestrians can pass and access storefronts.

Publicity and volunteer staffing were prominent concerns. The commission announced a new city communications contact, Hannah Strobel, who is serving through a military program and will take event promotional requests (who/what/when/where/why) for social-media posts, newsletters and other outreach; commissioners said they would circulate Strobel’s email to the committee. Separately, the commission said a PR firm offered free advertisement and asked that a DEC member who knows the event serve as a community contact for media outreach.

Organizers reported ongoing outreach for volunteers and said several local groups — Job Corps and National Honor Society students — were expected to provide setup and on-site help. The commission noted challenges securing dependable volunteers and said it will provide a time sheet, sign-up slots and an event-day script for people staffing the stage or acting as MCs.

On logistics, commissioners said the city will deliver stage equipment and barricades before the event; the stage and pop-up storage will be locked and available to organizers Saturday morning, and John (identified in the meeting as the person who typically manages the stage keys) will have access for unloading. Job Corps was listed as expected to help with setup on Saturday morning.

Votes at a glance: The commission approved the Aug. 4 minutes. A motion to approve the minutes passed with all present members voting yes; Chair Fox Hames, Commissioner Taylor, Commissioner Cooper and Commissioner Redmond voted in favor. Commissioners Randall, Colton and Eichsenberger were absent at roll call.

The commission said street barricades should remain in place until 7 p.m. on the event day and that staff will remove only a small number to allow vendors to retrieve equipment after that time. Organizers said they will supply yard signs, lamppost banners, flyers and a day-of schedule for businesses and attendees.

Organizers closed the Oktoberfest discussion by confirming on-site leads for vendor check-in (Julie will sign in vendors), T-shirt sales, hat/crown giveaways (Strobel offered to help with crowns and alpine hats) and a designated person to make vendor rounds to ensure pop-ups are correctly set.

The commission will reconvene Oct. 6 and asked members to continue sending event content and volunteer availability to the city communications contact for scheduling and graphic production.