PLAINS TWP. - Donning an Oktoberfest T-shirt and holding the remnants of a pierogi, Holly Fox of Fleetwood danced to the polka music blasting from the stereos - even after the emcee deemed the three-day Oktoberfest had officially ended.
"I don't want to leave; this has been so much fun," said Ms. Fox, who joined others on the dance floor after the conclusion of this year's PA Oktoberfest at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, sponsored by Times-Shamrock Communications.
After a combined 23 hours of food and beer sampling, live musical performances, wiener dog races and strong-man competitions, Sunday evening marked the end of the second annual three-day festival.
Though the numbers won't be tabulated until this morning, Tim Holmes, regional director of marketing and events for Times-Shamrock Communications, which owns The Times-Tribune, said this year's festival was "infinitely better" than last year's.
"We were just so much more prepared this time," said Mr. Holmes. "Last year we were only expecting 10,000, so when around 30,000 showed, we were in trouble. This time we planned for that amount, and it worked out extremely well."
Among the adjustments he cited was the addition of more bartenders and food vendors, which officials hoped would shorten the long lines.
It didn't go unnoticed.
"This year, I barely had to wait. It just seemed like the service, overall, was much better," Susan Nerbecki of Plains Twp. said.
Though a date hasn't been set, Mr. Holmes said the festival will "absolutely" be held again next year.
"This year was great, but we are looking at making even a few more adjustments for next year - mostly in terms of structure," Mr. Holmes said. "Hopefully, even more people come out next year."
Contact the writer: miorfino@timesshamrock.com, @miorfinoTT on Twitter