The first Seymour Oktoberfest festival was held in 1973.

Now, celebrating 50 years, the popular and long-anticipated tradition is gearing up for a celebration of a lifetime with old favorites along with new opportunities.

The Seymour Oktoberfest board has announced some new additions to the iconic festival as well as some surprises, such as Teri Moren, an Indiana Basketball Hall of Famer and two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year at Indiana University, being selected as the 2023 Seymour Oktoberfest parade marshal.

The kickoff for the parade is at 1:30 p.m. Saturday from Seymour High School.

Before the parade, at 1 p.m., winners will be drawn for the Seymour Oktoberfest Passport program. New this year, the program has been used as a guide to Seymour summer activates that are free for all ages from May to October. Those who collected a stamp from at least one event each month will have the chance to win a trip to Oktoberfest in Germany in 2025 along with many other valuable prizes.

“This program not only grew the partnerships between the visitor center, Seymour Main Street and the Jackson County Chamber, who helped with this program, but it grew with the help from local businesses sponsoring the various events,” Oktoberfest board member Solomon Rust said. “This truly brought the community together, which is what the Seymour Oktoberfest is all about.”

The passport drawing will be located at the corner of Walnut and Second streets.

For those interested in looking back on a little history of how this tradition all started, the Seymour Museum Center will have its facility open to the public along with historical exhibits of the Oktoberfest throughout the years, including displays of old photos, steins and other memorabilia throughout the decades.

“With their newly renovated facility, this is a double opportunity for people to see what they have to offer,” Oktoberfest committee member Jordan Richart said.

The museum will be open from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at 220 N. Chestnut St. near the North Stage.

The Oktoberfest also will be showcasing the Knights of Columbus Seymour Bocktoberfest 50th anniversary beer and adding a new biergarten.

The Seymour Brewing Co. will be hosting a biergarten near the North Stage from 6 to 11 p.m. during musical acts.

Rust said the board is excited with this addition, a different part of the festival others can enjoy.

“With the festival biergarten, you have to be 21 to enter, and with this one located near the North Stage, you can enjoy a beer and be with your family while listening to music,” Rust said.

Speaking of the North Stage, the board is excited about the entertainment lined up for the festival.

A Grateful Dead tribute band called Hyryder and a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band called Hot Red Chili Peppers will be taking the stage. Hot Red Chili Peppers will be from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, and Hyryder will be from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

Rust said these are bands with good followings, and he is excited to see a crowd turn out for them.

“It’s going to be packed,” he said.

Besides enjoying some tunes, many festivalgoers will be able to sample the many different food options and peruse the various craft booths the festival has to offer.

Fifteen new food booths will be located on St. Louis Avenue, including a wide variety of food options, such as Island Noodles, Foodiegange Bites, Mark & Beth’s Smalltown Sweets and Sushi Poke Bowl, to name a few.

Even though the Lucky Duck game was canceled, festivalgoers can still enjoy visiting the seven new craft booths that will be present during the Oktoberfest, including Innovative Adventures, A’s Custom Gifts, Luedeman’s Wood Crafts and more.

The board also is bringing back finisher medals for the 5K run/walk and giving out tumblers to the top finishers along with Oktoberfest Geld and long-sleeve shirts.

With this being the 50th anniversary, special merchandise, such as three different anniversary shirt designs, golden steins and classic round 50th anniversary buttons, will be available.

Shirts will be at the Seymour Noon Lions Club booth, the golden anniversary steins will be sold by the Sertoma Club of Jackson County and the buttons will be distributed at the information booth,

Lastly, those interested in seeing some live pumpkin carving can head over to the grassy lot next to the Seymour Area Farmers Market parking lot, where Operation Pumpkin will commence.

This event, hosted by the Schneck Foundation, will have physicians carve pumpkins to raise money for two scholarship funds, the Allied Health and Amanda Dick honorary scholarship funds.

“Last year, they had 11 physicians carving pumpkins and raised over $3,000, and they hope to raise more this year,” Rust said.

To participate, people must pay $1 to cast a single vote for their favorite pumpkin.

As part of the festival board, Rust said he is excited not only for the new opportunities they are bringing to the 50th anniversary festival but also looking back on what they have accomplished over the years.

“We are doing a lot of new things, but it’s also building up,” he said. “We have a springboard for next year, and even though next year won’t be the 50th, it will be a time to reflect back.”

Rust said this year, there will be drone footage of the festival to look back on as well as the development of a maypole in the coming year to look forward to. The maypole will be a large flagpole that is candy-striped and will have hanging signs representing iconic landmarks around Seymour.

“Fifty years is a long time for a city festival, and we are excited about it,” Rust said.

He said the Seymour Oktoberfest’s mission is to ultimately give back to the community, and with a popular festival that brings in revenue, the board is always looking for nonprofit organizations within Seymour needing assistance.

“We aren’t just holding a festival,” he said. “We want to give back to the community, as well.”

Rust said if an organization has any opportunities or requests, email [email protected]. The board offers grant programs twice a year.

The board also is looking for anyone who would like to get involved in the Seymour Oktoberfest at any capacity, whether that be through being a board member, a committee member or just helping at the festival itself.

“We are looking forward to another successful festival and doing what we can for another 50 years,” Rust said.

While attending the Oktoberfest, don’t forget to use the hashtags #seymouroktoberfest and #50festingyears on Facebook and Instagram to share your excitement in this milestone celebration.

For a complete schedule of events, go to seymouroktoberfest.com.