Beer Festival 'Could Become Annual Chiswick Event'
Carsten Raun would like to see Oktoberfest on Acton Green become a yearly tradition
Oktoberfest organiser Carsten Raun says he hopes that his German beer-festival on Acton Green Common could become an annual Chiswick tradition if it is successful next week.
Preparations for the five-day festival will get underway from Monday as the events team start to erect the giant marquee seating 1500, which will be the 'beer hall' with the traditional long tables and benches.
The festival will start on Wednesday (August 10) at 4 pm and finish on Sunday (August 14) which is designated a family day.
A typical scene at an Oktoberfest
Ealing Council gave the go-ahead to the organisers of the five-day beer festival despite local opposition from Bedford Park residents and a local church. Those opposed fear it could lead to anti-social behaviour and say it is not suitable for a conservation area. The Council says that the application met all its requirements and it had consulted with residents and other interested parties.
Speaking to chiswickw4.com, Bavarian-born Mr. Raun said there had been a good deal of interest from local people. In fact 80% of the tickets already sold had been from Chiswick addresses, he said, and this indicated that there was local support. Over 1,000 tickets have been sold so far but he said it was usual for there to be a last minute rush.
Mr. Raun said he could reassure local residents that the festival was "a kind of carnival" and that the age-group tended to be 35-55, not a young crowd who just wanted to get drunk. The Chiswick festival would be his tenth such event in London and he had run 100 beer festivals all over Europe since 2009. Another Oktoberfest is being held near Canary Wharf.
"We will have to see how things go next week but my idea would be to make it a tradition in Chiswick every year. It could become a big West London event." He is also thinking of organising a future Oktoberfest in Ealing.
Ealing police plan to have one police sergeant and 6 police constables policing the perimeter and dealing with any anti-social behaviour. It is understood that one police sergeant and 3 police constables from Hounslow borough have been assigned to manage the transport hubs.
Asked why he had chosen Chiswick as a venue, he said the proximity of Turnham Green tube station to the Green was a large factor. He said talks had been held with TfL and he was confident that the local station would be able to handle the crowds on the tube.
"There will be special crowd management in the evenings when people leave- we generally find people don't come and go all at the same time."
Map image from Bedford Park Residents' Association (BPRA)
During an Oktoberfest, staff dressed in dirndl or lederhosen, serve freshly brewed Bavarian beer, sausages, pretzel,and schnitzel, while an oompah band plays traditional German Schlager. Visitors can hire or buy their own pair of lederhosen on site. Mr. Raun said guests enjoyed the communal experience of all sitting at the long table and the outdoor tent made it more special than a hall.
The Oktoberfest event will be held in a tent on Acton Green within a fenced off area with only one entrance and exit on the rail embankment side. The tent will be 50m x 25m in size, and it will be 30m away from the nearest house. All activity will take place in the tent with a maximum capacity of 1500 people all seated. The route to Turnham Green tube station will be fenced off with stewards in attendance, and the Sunday event will be for families.
Sound levels will be monitored at 15 minute intervals, and speakers will be angled away from houses. The aim is to keep the noise below 65db when measured close to the nearest house.
◦ Start: 1600
◦ Live music ends: 2200
◦ Background music ends: 2230
◦ Event closes and customers off site: 2300 (previous experience shows that customers start to leave when the live music ends)
◦ The Sunday event, which is aimed at families, will start at 1200 and end at 1900.
The site will be cleared by the evening of Monday, 15 August.
• Only beer and soft drinks will be sold. There will be no spirits available. Strict age limit checks will be in place, and there will be 18 stewards present to monitor behaviour. A total of 35 staff will be on site.
• The police have been consulted and are reported to be happy with the security arrangements. They will be carrying out spot checks.
• If the organisers want to repeat the event in future years they will have to submit further applications to Ealing Council.
August 3, 2016
