When Ryan Munson, owner of Munson and Brothers Trading Post, opened his store in October 2020 he launched with an Oktoberfest celebration.

While he was initially unsure anyone would show up due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Munson said he was blown away by how many came out to support the festival that first year.

“We were opening Oct. 1 so … nobody was doing anything,” Munson told The Dispatch. We were like, ‘Well, let’s put on an October Festival,’ and we’ve got all this craft beer. And we were just blessed because everybody from day one showed up.”

Munson and Brothers will host the sixth annual Oktoberfest this weekend, kicking off the three-day celebration starting at 5 p.m. Friday with a propst (the German word for “cheers” or a toast) from Mayor Stephen Jones.

Musical performances will follow shortly after from Harpo and The Hoodoo at 5 p.m. and Red and the Revelers at 8 p.m.

Munson said each night will close with a song for the crowd to sing together, inspired by his travels in Germany two years ago.

The festivities on Saturday start at 10 a.m. with a one-mile beer run and beer 5K, in support of the Columbus Arts Council. Registration for either race is $40 per competitor, the race’s website said.

Afterward, the Arts Council’s will feature 30 vendors selling hand-made items near the eatery from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., CAC Executive Director Quan Walker said.

“I’m excited to see all the vendors and all the people come out,” Walker told The Dispatch. “I’m hoping for a really good turnout and … that we raise a lot of money for the Arts Council.”

Musicians will take to the stage including Shane Tubbs at 11 a.m., followed by Josh Gillis at 1 p.m. Then the Wherehouse Dance Company will be performing at 2 p.m. before the stage shifts back to musicians and singers. Jeremy Stanfill will perform at 3 p.m. followed by The Moves at 4 p.m.

A second stage outside the store will feature performances from students of Catfish Alley Studio and piano teacher Kyia King, Walker said.

Bees, beers and bratwursts

Friendly City Books will host its inaugural adult spelling bee during the festival Saturday. Registration for the bee will begin at 5 p.m., with up to 20 spellers taking the stage at 6 p.m., Emily Liner, owner of Friendly City Books said.

Competition entry will be $15, but competitors can also donate an extra $10 to phone a friend from the audience or $25 to skip a word. All proceeds will support the Mississippi Spelling Bee, which is held on the Mississippi University for Women campus in March, Liner said.

“It’ll just be really fun to see a bunch of grown ups get up there and try to spell,” Liner said. “We are actually going to use real words from the previous statewide spelling bees. … So these are past words that kids have actually spelled in our state spelling bee.”

The winners of Munson and Brothers’ songwriter competition in August – Earlie Grace Davis, Goodloe Chilcutt and Kyle Kite – will perform from 7-10 p.m., followed by a performance from Hayden Hunter and the Yearly Trails to close out the evening.

The festival wraps up on Sunday with a lighter schedule, featuring performances from John Keys and Clara and Jon from 1-4 p.m. with karaoke afterwards until 8 p.m., Munson said.

Wristbands, which will be needed for Friday and Saturday admission, will be sold at the entrance of the event for $5 for attendees over the age of 12. Admittance on Sunday is free, Munson said.

The profit from the wristbands will go towards supporting the artists performing at Oktoberfest, Munson said.

The event will feature festival-specific food and drinks for sale, including at least 15 types of Oktoberfest beers mostly made by local breweries, pretzels, bratwurst, kraut and spicy pickles, Munson said.

Munson said that he’s glad that support has continued to be strong at the event and hopes that everyone enjoys themselves at the festival.

“I think the reason it has (continued growing) is because we have not been focused on really setting goals and doing anything different as much as just wanting it to be a great experience,” he said. “I just want to have fun.”