Oktoberfest Button Design contest winner announced
(Left to right) Elisabeth Byers, Mike Ulrich, Paula Check, Mallory McCullick, Tara Marx and Greg Sedbrook. The Oktoberfest committee chose McCullick’s design for the 2024 event’s admission button. (Steve Van Kooten/Courier Press)
By Steve Van Kooten
Break out the lederhosen, tune up the glockenspiel and get ready to fill your bellies with kartoffelpuffer because the Prairie du Chien Oktoberfest announced the winner of the 2024 button design contest on August 29.
Committee member Mike Ulrich named Mallory McCullick, 15, as the contest winner. She is a sophomore at Wauzeka-Steuben High School. When she’s not in school or participating in track and field, she works at the Backwater Bar in Prairie du Chien.
For her design, she went to Oktoberfest’s roots — and barley and hops — for inspiration.
“I wanted to do true Oktoberfest, so I googled [sic] ‘Oktoberfest in Germany’ and got some ideas from what they look like over there,” said McCullick. “The main thing I was finding was beer. I decided to do the Prairie du Chien logo on the center of the stein instead of the Oktoberfest design.”
McCullick’s design will be featured on approximately 2,500 buttons this year.
“Your design was awesome. Everybody felt that when we made the decision... I know there were about 20 other participants, and there were some really good ones in that group too, but I think what you have is a good depiction of what Oktoberfest is.”
The annual button design is important because attendees will need to purchase one to gain entrance to the festivities. A button costs $4. The design contest also heralds the start of the season; Oktoberfest is less than two months away.
Buttons will be available for purchase at various locations in Prairie du Chien before the event.
Oktoberfest will take place on Saturday, October 19, on St. Feriole Island, with several events earlier in the week to whet people’s whistles.
Hoffman Hall will host bingo at 2 p.m., and the Eagles Club will host euchre and “Chase the Ace” tournaments on the days leading up to the event.
McCullick is expected to attend the Tapping of the Keg Party on Friday, October 18, at the Backwater Bar in Prairie du Chien. Barefoot Becky will provide live music that night.
“We like to say this is the state’s largest family-friendly Oktoberfest,” said Ulrich, who works on the event committee.
On Saturday, Oktoberfest kicks off with a disc golf tournament at 9 a.m., and the annual parade begins an hour later.
Kids games, beer stein holding, men’s and women’s keg toss and Hammerschlagen are yearly attractions at the event.
New attractions this year include a car show at 11 a.m., six bounce houses and a sauerkraut eating contest at 2:30 p.m.
For more information, call 608-412-4556 or contact Prairie du Chien Tourism at 1-800-732-1673 or at www.prairieduchien.org.
