Attendees enjoy dressing up for the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunrise’s annual Oktoberfest fund-raiser.

LAHAINA – Where can you get authentic Bratwurst, cold German beer, and foot-stomping, thigh-slapping tunes from an Oompah band, all under a mango tree on a tropical night in October? The fourth annual Oktoberfest on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. at the historic Pioneer Inn in Lahaina is the place to be. Hosted by the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunrise, the event will fund a vocational scholarship for a deserving Maui County high school student.

Juergen Will, longtime Lahaina resident and owner of Saltwater Signs, provided his mom’s original recipe for the Hot German Potato Salad. Bratwust and Bockwurst are special ordered for the festival. Sauerbratgen, Braised Red Cabbage, Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream, Apple Sauce and German Chocolate Cake round out the menu. The no-host bar will feature wine, beer and cocktails.

The Oompah Band – Lisa Owen and the Village Musicians – will keep the party hopping with the “chicken dance,” “beer barrel polka,” waltzes and popular drinking songs. The band members – all professional musicians who have been playing together for 20 years – are Anne Durham on piano, Jimmy Coulter on drums and vocals, Jerry Eisenberg on clarinet and Lisa Owen on tuba.

Sizzling items on the silent auction table will include some great values as well as those ever-popular restaurant gift cards. One-hundred percent of the silent auction proceeds will go toward the vocational scholarship – one of only a few vocational scholarships offered to high school graduates. This scholarship covers training for vocations such as plumbing, small engine repair, airline mechanic, welders and much more.

Tickets, only $45 each, are available online at www.lahainasunriserotary.org. Seating is limited, so buy your ticket early.

The Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunrise meets every Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. at the Pioneer Inn for a breakfast meeting and featured speaker. Community members are welcome to attend the meeting for a $10 fee. No reservation is necessary. Funds raised by the Rotary Club are used for a variety of local and international community projects.