What do Germans and Filipinos have in common? A love for food that pairs best with beer, which takes you from your seat to your feet. Prost! Tagay!
If the rumors turn true, then the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga might just be the coming decade’s de facto capital.
Word on the street (and boardrooms) is that the country’s main airport as well as government buildings may relocate to the Freeport, but if the site knows how to work hard, it may just party hard, too.
Building on this aspiration, the Clark Marriott Hotel will once again hold what is arguably the most authentic Oktoberfest in the Philippines.
“Authentic” is a word that gets thrown around a lot in lifestyle writing to the point that it’s pretty much a soulless marketing buzzword in 2022.
I’m guilty of (over)using it too, but hear me out: When Goeran Soelter, Clark Marriott Hotel general manager, walks into the room wearing the freaking party version of a Tyrolean hat complete with Bavarian khaki shorts, lumberjack polo, and suspenders, you know he means business.
He quips that it should be telling that both the head chef for the project and the GM are German, then elaborates that a lot of R&D (research and development) went into preparing the food for the party happening in the Clark Parade Grounds.
He reveals meticulous choices in seasonings, ingredients, and cooking styles. In a preview held for the media, guests were given samplers of German pulutan, so to speak: roast chicken, pork knuckles, various types of wurst and schublig balanced by sauerkraut and various types of pickles and salads.
And to cheese lovers: the cheese in the salad was no joke. Tyrolean party hats don’t lie.
But of course this is the Oktoberfest. Keyword: Fest. Friend, we’re here for the beer. And what beer flows here in the Freeport. Pair all that food with Weihenstephan, one of the oldest brewers in Bavaria dating back to hundreds of years, now the sponsor for this Oktoberfest.
What’s a party without music and dancing? Flying in from Germany is Anton Show, a band known specifically for their spins on traditional German music, perfect for Oktoberfest. And you won’t just be passively listening, no, their members will go to your tables to get you out of your shell.
The Clark Marriott’s pilot attempt happened back in 2019, before, well, we all know that time stopped in 2019. It’s still December 2019 in my watch.
When Goeran Soelter walks into the room wearing the freaking party version of a Tyrolean hat complete with Bavarian khaki shorts, lumberjack polo, and suspenders, you know he means business.
This time around, with much lessons learned, the hotel will be throwing a larger fest than last time, a bigger venue, with more beer: Allegedly 1,800 liters just for the night.
I remember being there, at the Clark Marriott Oktoberfest in 2019. It really did seem like a pilot episode, imperfectly perfect, but there was heart to it, and you knew they just had to do it to do it better next time. Around my fifth beer, I bumped into GM Soelter and asked, why throw it here?
And he shared his belief that Filipinos and Germans have similar drinking cultures. “Those guys drinking by the street and singing out loud? We do that too in Germany,” he said. It’s communal. It’s full of camaraderie. There are no strangers.
Some of us may hesitate at the word “party” because of the associations we may make with snooty snobs in venues known for the being the go-to party places.
But hear me out again, the Oktoberfest is also for partygoers who don’t want to party.
It’s really the crowd. It’s always the crowd.
It’s acts like Anton Show getting you to sing in a language you can’t speak. It’s folks like Herr Soelter whose passion for sharing enjoyment shines through his professional demeanor. It’s the culinary team’s research and effort. It’s the Marriott’s staff and their alert eye. It all brings out the best in partygoers.
If you’re the type to bob your head to not hurt the DJ’s feelings, all while itching to swipe at your phone and find a pretext to bounce, then hear me out. One chug, then two, then four, nine, and oh, you’re dancing, you’re actually dancing!
That’s what parties are really about: feeling at home, even with strangers. Realizing that hey, I can dance, that hey, don’t blame it on the good times, blame it on the boogie, as a wise man once sang.
Call +63 455 985 000 to purchase tickets. Visit clarkmarriott.com for more info.