"the Party is over......" for another year, sighhhhhhh
We closed the festhalle last night to the second night of capacity plus attendance. We're licensed for 2300 and we had over that both of the last two nights. We're talking allot of people to process through the front doors. And that's where I work mainly. I'm chair of admissions. Friday night being University Night, almost all the tickets were sold by the Sigma Chi Fraternity Chapters at the University of Waterloo and Sir Wilfred Laurier University. All of whom definitely have to have their ID's checked at the door.
After seeing some of them, even before entry, I have to wonder at some of the youth of today.
Many may be book smart, but they're seriously slow or low on the practical skills or common sense quotient. I think we set an all time high for those that arrived already too intoxicated to admit. Many of whom, compounded their error by refusing to return home quietly, and were ejected by either myself, our staff or the paid duty officers from our Festhalle. Which begs the question, when do they teach these brainac's that it doesn't pay to argue with an officer?
On Friday night I got my work out too...lol. Some of my staff said they're never seen me move so fast....and I freely admit I think the last time I descended the stairs, deliberately, at 3 or 4 steps at a time was while living in London, England and running to catch the tube. We'd had word that somebody was trying to use the elevator to re-enter after being already ejected from the Festhalle. I met the elevator at the bottom and greeted him as the doors opened, blocking his exit from the elevator. He wanted to know why I thought I had the right to block "his return to the party"....to which, I replied that since I was co-chair of the Festhalle, I had every right to restrict his access. I stood facing him blocking his exit, reached over pushed the button for the lobby floor and let the doors close again.
It's a sllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooowwwwww ride at any time in that elevator....which probably why I beat it to the bottom in the first place, but I digress. Anyway he was leaning towards me arguing, and I'd like to give him a benefit of a doubt that he over balanced, but the sight/feel of his fist going over my shoulder and past my ear, definitely gave the impression that he'd taken a swing at me. I just "pushed" him backwards....as his balance wasn't his best skill at the time. The doors opened to one of our volunteers....and more importantly, a police Sgt.
, who escorted him out of the elevator.
While falling back to back up the officer as he led him out, I spotted a glass mickey bottle (about a 12oz bottle) in his back pocket (it was almost falling out) and removed it. He'd already been calling me a series of what he obviously thought were "creative" descriptives
, but this put him into high gear and he stepped it up a few notches, calling me everything under the sun
, and lunging towards me. At which point the Sgt., put him into a half nelson and frog marched him out of the Festhalle. When they got to the double set of exit doors, they were met by some fellow officers entering, including a senior member of the local SWAT team.
...the "restrained" patron showed his disdain and opinion of the local constabulary and began resisting ejection again. At which, the SWAT officer slapped the bracelets on him and took him for a ride.
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice. Definitely a case of liquor logic and stuck on stupid.
Yep, been a while since somebody took a swing at me....
. Afterwards, the staff were talking about it. The newbies at the front door who saw me take off flying down the stairs and then return accompanying the officer and ejected patron were surprised I caught him. The staff at the bottom of the stairs, where the coat check is located opposite the elevator were mostly high school KEY Club members and our security. Most of which were freaked out that I went into the elevator alone with the guy. I'm told that they were saying security should've accompanied me, and one of the more experienced staff, laughed and said, she knows what she's doing.....
. But I can't blame the newbies, too much. After all....I'm only 5'1 and I wasn't wearing high heels and I was dressed in an "evening dirndl" which is ankle length and is corsetted....
I am glad that I'd had a "refresher" course in restraint holds by some of my more unusually skilled security volunteers the first weekend. One of those assigned to me at the front door is a 3rd degree black belt. I learned a few new ones for repelling or restraining...hehehe.
By the time that I left the Festhalle, after the final night staff party, it was about 0330. I was back at the Festhalle for teardown at 0750 and didnt get home until about 1630. After a 15 hour day at the Festhalle the day before, I was more than a little tired when I arrived home. LOL Went to bed and got up in time to watch about the last 6 innings of the Rockies and Dbacks.
So Oktoberfest is over for another year. We made up for the slower first weekend in our Festhalle the final weekend and should come out about the same as the previous year. All proceeds go to our Kiwanis Club's projects and the community groups that assist us putting on the event. It's allot of work but if we didn't do it, we wouldn't be able to contribute the over $5 million CAD we've raised through our Festhalle over the past 38 years, back into our local community and beyond.
Next year, I'll try to coordinate something earlier for any TV-er's who might wish to check out the largest Oktoberfest anywhere outside of Munich. Ours is only one of about 17 Festhallen in Kitchener Waterloo. Might even be able to do a seed swap, since most people will have put their gardens to bed by then. Unless of course they're far enough south that they put in a fall crop.
Now I think I have a date with my long neglected pillow.
G'nite...lol....or should I say, Guten Nacht und schlaffen Sie gute!