It was a good day for Barney, a dachshund dressed as a referee. He took home third place at Oktoberfest's dachshund costume contest - an improvement from his fifth place standing last year.
Barney came from Marion to Jefferson City for the festival with his owner, Christy Garnett, who tested his speed during the festival's most popular attraction, the Dachshund Derby.
"He doesn't usually catch the cat or the rabbits, but I'm hoping that if I'm at the end he'll let his ears just fly and come to me. He can be quick," Garnett said.
The derby and costume contest were just one part of the 15th annual Oktoberfest, which was put on by the Old Munichburg Association this weekend to celebrate the city's deep German roots. The festival kicked off on Friday night, with a German dinner at the Central United Church of Christ dining hall.
"We had a German band there playing polkas and we had kids from the Cedar Hill Elementary School singing in German doing the famous duck dance," said Walter Schroeder, the secretary and historian of the Old Munichburg Association. "The full moon was coming up, and it was just a perfect night."
Saturday brought blacksmith demonstrations, craft vendors, and plenty of food and drink. Special Oktoberfest beers flowed at the Muenchberg Beer Garden, and the line for brats and sauerkraut stretched across the parking lot.
"Just beautiful weather, and probably the biggest crowd we've had," said Bob Jones, a beer garden volunteer. "You can tell from how many people are standing in the brat line."
Music and entertainment from the Keota Band, the Mulekicker Cloggers and Spontaneous Serendipity accompanied festivalgoers on the Washington Street stage. A children's area filled the Hawthorn Bank parking lot and lawn with horse rides, games, face painting and knockerball, where kids gleefully rolled around in oversized plastic balls.
Down the street, the Mid MO Old Car Club held a show with blocks of classic and antique cars from every era. One of the participants, Stu Dunkel, brought his light green 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback to show.
"People just started asking about it," Dunkel said. "Wherever we drove that thing people wanted to know if it was for sale or they wanted to race it. One of the two."