Want an [Alt]ernative to Oktoberfest but don’t know what options are out there? [Alt]ernative Fest is a great way to spend Oktoberfest without the normal “happenings” that go on.
Schuyler Coates, a college-aged and young adult ministry leader in Hays, said “[Alt] means options to me. Sometimes it seems as though we are only given one choice as what to do on the Friday night of Oktoberfest. This is providing another.”
During [Alt], the afternoon and evening will be filled with a variety of live Christian music. Eight bands will perform at 10th and Main from 3:30 p.m. to midnight, with various local bands in between main acts. The headliner band is Cloverton, based out of Manhattan, Kans. Cloverton is a set of twin boys, and their sister happens to be Jill Arensdorf, who works in the Department of Leadership Studies here at Fort Hays State University.
Last year, the first [Alt] took place, and Coates said she thought that there was a great turn out, stating that there were so many people who were willing to do whatever needed to be done to get the event put together, and she believes that this year’s [Alt] will be even bigger than last year’s. Since there are local bands playing, many people go to hear them because they know people who play in those bands.
Many have invested so much into this year’s [Alt]. The community of Hays has been highly involved with making [Alt] a possibility. Many local churches, campus ministries, other universities, and civic organizations from the community and Fort Hays have all come together to make this event a good friendly environment for everyone to enjoy.
Patrick McGinnis is one of the founders of [Alt], and he was born and raised in Hays. He knows what kinds of activities go on during Oktoberfest and felt strongly about providing another option for students who attend Fort Hays. McGinnis believes that [Alt] is a good alternative to Oktoberfest because “it’s a cool way to get people together for the afternoon and evening as the activities start to degrade during Oktoberfest.”
Most of the bands that will be here this weekend have played in Hays before. The bands performing include The Least of These, Renew, Ignite, Clarensau, Everfound, Aaron Gillespie, The City Harmonic and Cloverton.
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