Don’t Forget

Hey community of Fayetteville,

Don’t forget to change your clocks back a hour on saturday night.

Fayetteville…the political stomping grounds

John McCain plans to drum up support among blue-collar workers when he visits Fayetteville on Tuesday as part of a “Joe the Plumber” tour in battleground states.

McCain will be at the at Crown Center with guests that include country music singer Hank Williams Jr. Doors open at 2 p.m. The public should arrive no later than 4:30 p.m.

McCain’s visit comes just over a week after his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama, held a rally at the Crown. Obama’s appearance Sunday filled the Crown Coliseum and spurred interest among Democrats in early voting that afternoon.

For the rally, people will need to obtain free tickets. They can be picked up starting today at 2 p.m. at the Republican headquarters at 201 S. McPherson Church Road, upstairs in Suite 204.

Tickets also can be printed online at northcarolina.johnmccain.com.

Fun for the family

The second annual Oktoberfest promises to be more than beer and bratwurst.

“We’re really trying to put together something that will really appeal to the entire family,” said Marlene Shelton, managing director for Cape Fear Regional Theatre, sponsor of the event. “We’re trying to make sure we don’t leave anybody out.”

To that end, the festival will feature face-painting and games including a football and Frisbee toss, cakewalk and dance contests. The event is scheduled Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. in downtown Festival Park.

The theater inaugurated the event last year as a fundraiser. Cape Fear Regional Theatre stages musicals, comedies and dramas using both professional and local talent.

The $10 admission charge includes five $1 tickets, which can be used to buy food, drinks or to participate in the games. Children 12 and under will be admitted free.

“It’s essentially the price of a movie,” Shelton said.

Four types of beer will be available at Oktoberfest. The steady of hand can test their skills at a beer glass relay, in which participants carry filled cups from one end of a course to the other, then dump the contents in a bucket. First team to fill the bucket wins.

Shelton said the theater went to great lengths to make sure that the festival has something for everyone, not just beer lovers.

“It was important that the kids got a chance to participate in something like this,” she said. “The theater is about everyone in the family.”

Matching the event, Shelton said the CFRT is an all-inclusive theater.

“We have everyone from the kids to the grandmothers on the stage here,” Shelton said.

Providing the music for the festival for the second year will be Fayetteville’s own Bavarian Brass Band.

The band was formed in 1991, disbanded in 1997 and started up again in 2001, said bandleader Bill Howard. Currently, the band plays festivals throughout the area, including a recent appearance at an Oktoberfest in Savannah, Ga.

The group’s repertoire includes polkas, marches, waltzes and the occasional pop or country tune. “Happy stuff,” Howard said.

“People can get up and dance, do polkas and waltzes, things they don’t normally get to do,” Howard said. That can include the “chicken dance,” in which audience members are encouraged to strut and flap their arms, poultry-style.

“You have to see it to believe it,” Howard said.

The band includes about 12 members playing tubas, flugelhorns and other instruments. Howard said the band will be bringing its alpine horns, which are about 12 feet long and are similar to the instruments featured in the Ricola cough drop advertisements.

“We may even have a little contest and let people see if they can make a little sound come out of it,” Howard said.

OKTOBERFEST

When: 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18

Where: Festival Park, downtown Fayetteville

Admission: $10, which includes five $1 tickets for use at the festival

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HERITAGE FESTIVAL

HERITAGE FESTIVAL

When: Sunday, Oct, 5, 1 to 4 p.m. Held rain or shine.

Where: Cape Fear Botanical Garden, 536 N. Eastern Blvd.

Admission: $3-$5 for adults. Free for children 12 and younger.

What’s going on?: Go back in time to 1880. The festival, now in its fifth year, will let children see what it’s like to roll candles from beeswax and spin cotton with their fingers. Plus there will be live bluegrass music from The Parsons, pony rides and hayrides, animals, agricultural demonstrations and more crafts.

Information: Call 486-0221 or go to www.capefearbg.org.