The story
Hays Oktoberfest in Hays
Hays Oktoberfest is an annual celebration of Volga German heritage held at Municipal Park in Hays, Kansas, timed to coincide with Fort Hays State University's homecoming weekend each October. Organized by the Volga German Centennial Association since 1974, it features traditional food, music, beer, and craft vendors.
Volga Germans were ethnic Germans who settled along Russia's Volga River in the eighteenth century at the invitation of Catherine the Great, maintaining German language, religion, and customs for generations while living under Russian rule, before large numbers emigrated to the United States in the late nineteenth century as Russian policies toward German settlers grew less favorable.