Matt Moore
The sousaphone, or tuba, section of the Power Sound of the South marching band hosted its second annual Oktubafest party last Friday night at band member Ryan Roth’s apartment.
“I love to have a good time and party with my friends,” Roth, a senior in mechanical engineering, said. “Oktubafest is a way that all the band members can get together, hang out and have a good time.”
Roth and his roommate from last year, 2006 graduate David “Saquaw” Johnston, started Oktubafest last year.
“The band didn’t really have big parties, so Saquaw and I thought it would be a great idea to start this tradition,” Roth said. “This year we were trying to out-do the Castle Party that the drumline threw earlier this year.”
Oktubafest is based on the German fall festival, Oktoberfest, which is held each year in Munich, Germany.
Oktoberfest was originally held in honor of the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig’s marriage to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen in 1810.
This year’s Oktoberfest ran from Sept. 16 to Oct. 3.
“The sousaphone was originally a German instrument and Oktoberfest happens about this time each year, so Oktubafest was a pretty appropriate name for our party.” Roth said.
According to Roth, he expected more than 100 people to attend Oktubafest. The party was mainly for band members and their friends.
The tuba section also held a competition to pick Miss Sousa 2006 during Oktubafest.
The ten girls participating in the competition had to acquire as many “sousa dollars” as they could from members of the sousaphone section from 10 p.m. until 12 p.m.
The winner was the girl who collected the most sousa dollars.
“I like how the competition is set up,” Claudia Eggert, a junior in textile engineering, said. “Any girl can join and it’s funny to see what people will do to get sousa dollars.”
Marie Weigle, a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University, designed the competition.
“I came up with this competition because I wanted to show that band girls aren’t just geeks and can be fun and have a good time, just like every other girl,” Weigle said.
The winner of the Miss Sousa competition received a tiara and bragging rights for the year — second and third place received bouquets. This year’s Miss Sousa 2006 was Whitney Ragland, a junior in business management.
“It feels great to be Miss Sousa 2006. I’m very proud to be part of the sousaphone section.” Ragland said. “I definitely plan on competing and defending my title next year.” According to Roth, Oktubafest will be an annual tradition. “I hope that the Oktubafest tradition continues,” Eggert said. “It’s a great way for the band to gather and meet people who aren’t in our sections.”