Camp Richardson Historic Resort and Marina is celebrating 25 years of Bavarian food and culture.

The well-loved Oktoberfest will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 5-6.

Camp Richardson’s Oktoberfest celebration has been a community cornerstone.

Director of Operations Vanessa Santora has worked on the event for 10 years and has watched it grow.

“We see more families, more people in the competitions, the story of the event is growing and the appeal of it is growing,” Santora said.

To celebrate a quarter century, this year’s Oktoberfest will feature all the traditional fun but with new food and games.

Some of the new things attendees can look forward to include new sausage varieties, Bavarian beef stew, Beacon beer and brat boil and caramel apples.

In addition to the new food and drink items, the normal Oktoberfest items will be available including pretzels, apple strudel, beer from Alibi Ale Works.

Attendees can buy T-shirts, long-sleeved shirts or mugs with a bear graphic designed by a Camp Richardson employee. People interested in a mug can buy a traditional stein with a lid and the bear design imported from Germany. There are a limited amount of those but there will also be glass and ceramic mugs available.

This family-friendly event has plenty of activities for everyone such as face painting, pumpkin bowling, a climbing wall and live polka music from the “The Gruber Family Band.”

Another upside to this event; it’s the one time a year people can bring their dogs to Camp Richardson.

There are also several contests to enter. Attendees can put their yodeling, beer stein holding and bratwurst eating skills to the test. There is also a costume contest for attendees and their dogs.

There will be shopping opportunities at vendor row, featuring local artists and stores.

Both days, people can take a 90-minute round trip cruise to Emerald Bay on the Camp Richarson’s Rum Runner cruise. Reservations are recommended.

Raffle tickets for a chance to win a mountain bike from Giant, will be sold with the drawing held at 4 p.m. Sunday.

While many tourists come out to this event, Santora said Sunday is kind of a locals’ day.

“It gives the locals a chance to come out and celebrate the end of summer,” Santora said.

One of the things that makes this event unique is its venue.

“Our venue is unlike anything anyone else has,” Santora said. “It’s the epitome of fall.”

With the tall trees and old, rustic buildings, it’s easy to go back in time.

The event is free but food and drinks can be paid for with tickets. The tickets are cash only.

To find out more, visit http://www.camprichardson.com/oktoberfest.