Festival could be Liverpool’s answer to Munich’s Oktoberfest

Aug 21 2007 by Mike Chapple, Liverpool Daily Post

Festival could be Liverpool’s answer to Munich’s Oktoberfest

A FESTIVAL launched to showcase Mersey-side’s finest food and drink could become Liverpool’s answer to the Munich beer festival, organisers said last night.

Thirty city centre pubs have joined forces to stage the two-week long event as part of Liverpool’s 800th birthday celebrations starting next week.

It is the first festival of its kind in the region to be run jointly with the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and business leaders at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce.

Organisers hope it will grow over to rival Munich’s 16-day Oktoberfest, which annually attracts around a million people from across the globe.

The Liverpool event will begin on the city’s birthday, on Tuesday, August 28, and last for two weeks.

Besides serving some of the finest real ales, including beers from the nine breweries in and around the Merseyside area, many pubs will stage themed projects relating to their heritage.

The Cross Keys on Earle Street, which served the now demolished Liverpool Stadium where many legendary boxing bouts were staged, will host a celebration of local boxing greats.

With the co-operation of the Merseyside Former Boxers Association and Wirral Ex Boxers, landlord Matt Brannan has gathered a host of old stadium posters and photos which will be displayed with a DVD document-ary film shown continually from today until a week on Friday.

In addition, on Liverpool’s 800th birthday next Tuesday, locally- born boxers will be in the upstairs function room from 11am until 3pm to talk to drinkers about their glory days.

“Some of this city’s pubs which sell real ale are little historical gems, absolute treasures that need to be guarded and looked after,” said Chamber of Commerce spokes-man Peter Jones.

“It’s the first time we have participated with Camra and some national pub companies in a project like this and we’re hoping it could develop into an annual event that could even perhaps mimic the Munich Beer Festival.”

For their part in the celebra-tions, the district and Liverpool Camra branch will serving samples of the finest real ales in Old Hall Street which will be closed to traffic on the birthday. They have also produced a special passport which can be stamped for visitors who buy a pint of real ale in any of the 30 pubs involved. Collecting nine different stamps entitles the holder to enter a prize draw.

Camra branch chairman Geoff Edwards said: “We did this last year – without the Chamber or the pub companies on board. So this year it’s going to be bigger and better with even more pubs involved and, hopefully, it will convert more people to what real ale – and this city – has to offer.”

mikechapple