Bockfest is STILL ON, despite the snow!
Howver, due to the Snow Emergency declared by the City of Cincinnati, the float portion of the Parade is CANCELLED. Everything else is still on. We will kick off the weekend at Arnold's at 6PM, and walk up to Bockfest Hall for the blessing of the beer.
All the bars are still open and ready to keep you warm with some delicious bock beer and sausage.
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Starting at Arnold's -- Cincinnati's oldest saloon -- the Bockfest parade is tradionally lead by a goat pulling a keg. It travels up Main Street and ends with the blessing of the bock beer. This officially marks the beginning of a weekend of festive celebration that might end in blaming a goat on your horizontal position. Goats, the German Renaissance, beer, irreverence and originality are all highly esteemed aspects of a parade entry. There are no fire trucks for the kids. In the past, entries have included faux-monks pulling a Trojan goat, futon queens, German beer bands, a four-poster bed pulled by slave labor, a leather-clad mistress with a huge whip, and patriotic chants of "drink more beer." As usual, you can bring your favorite canine to walk with "The Bocking Dogs."
The Bockfest Parade will be held on March 7, 2008. The parade will start to form in front of Arnold's Bar and Grill at 5:30 p.m. and start moving up Main St. at 6:00 p.m. The Bockfest Parade is Cincinnati's funkiest and most entertaining parade. It can be watched from the street or from a number of participating restaurants and bars along the route. It is free to enter, without advance notice.
The grand prize for best parade entry will be a one-of-a-kind, 12 in. hand-blown glass stein made by the Art Academy's River City Works. You can see photos of last year's stein being created at the Bockfest Blow.
This year's Grand Marshall is A.M. Kinney from the Munich Sister City Association of Greater Cincinnati. Mr. Kinney will be riding in a carriage along with Richard Shada (last year's Grand Marshall). He will also have with him an intern from Munich dressed as "Muenchner Kindle" or the "little monk", which is the symbol of Munich.
A.M.Kinney was born and raised in Cincinnati as were many generations of his forebears dating back to the early settlers in Newtown (formerly known as Mercersburg.) Although his surname belies his Scottish roots, as most Americans who have been on these shores for hundreds of years, he is part-German, part-Scotch, part-English, part-Welsh but all-American. Having worked part-time in the family architectural-engineering business through high school, he started working there full time upon graduation from college and has been the Chairman of the Board of A.M.Kinney, Inc. since 1993. He is the father of 3 college age children and enjoys sports such as hiking, cycling and sailing. He is an avid soccer fan but also enjoys watching American football and auto-racing, particularly sports car racing and Formula One. His love of travel has taken him to many parts of the world but he seems to gravitate time and time again to Bavaria and especially to his favorite city, Munich. A.M. is the current President of the Munich Sister City Association of Greater Cincinnati.
For details or questions about entering the parade please contact David White at (513) 227-5155 or at davideliwhite@gmail.com
