Seymour Oktoberfest welcomed guests new and old to its 51st year of festivities.

What brings many people back year after year is the various vendors dishing up food that can only be enjoyed all at once during the festival.

This year, Angie Edmonds of Seymour missed her favorite food vendor, Deb’s Cheddar Wagon Hot Wisconsin Cheese, but still enjoyed all the options she had to choose from. More than 70 vendors offered a unique assortment of food from wood fired pizza to pork kabobs, bratwurst to turkey legs and enough sweets to satisfy every flavor palate.

Rick Fields of North Vernon said when he comes to the festival, he looks forward to the Cajun food.

Besides the food, seeing family and loved ones was a highlight for Fields. The previous night, he met with some of his family at the fest and returned for more fun with friends.

Overall, it’s hard to hear the good things about Oktoberfest without mentioning the delicious options.

“You can have [food] you really wouldn’t make at home,” Sherri Rider of Seymour said.

Rider also mentioned the unique crafts and flea market items she likes to explore. There were more than 50 arts and craft vendors that included jewelry, wooden signs, henna hand and body art and personalized rice necklaces.

While food is an enticing part of the event, Rider’s grandson, Rowen Everage, 5, couldn’t see the appeal of the food more than what he was waiting in line for — the carnival rides.

It’s become a tradition for Rider to come to the festival with her grandchildren and she was glad to bring Everage to enjoy his favorite part of Oktoberfest, in particular the bumper cars.

Another young face at the event, Ahayla Dyer, 5, of Seymour agreed she loved going on the carnival rides. After walking the Tri Kappa cake walk and winning a chocolate cake, she was excited to eventually get to enjoy more of the carnival.

In the afternoon Friday, many entertaining performers danced and serenaded the Oktoberfest crowds at the German American Bank West Stage. Southern Indiana Cloggers, which consists of members from Columbus to Louisville and more, performed for an hour. One of the many songs they performed was “Get Ready” by Pitbull.

The chicken and polka dance contest followed the cloggers at the same stage, where those in the crowd could come up and freely dance to each song in the space reserved for that use. Winners were chosen by those running the contest, awarding dancers ribbons to signify a job well done.

Friday night, the hot air balloon glow, sponsored by RE/MAX Professionals, took place at Fifth and Walnut streets. People gathered around the large hot air balloons, children dancing and running around while others held their phones up to digitally capture the moment forever.

Once the last balloon blown was standing up straight, the balloons were directed to light up in different patterns. The patterns were described as twinking, where the balloons all intermittently flashed; wave, which had one balloon after the next flash their torches; and a final glow that would have them all light up at the same time.

Saturday was a fittingly sunny day for the annual Oktoberfest parade. The route changed from its usual path this year due to construction on West Second Street starting on Community Drive and ending at Fourth and Johnson streets.

Fright Night Halloween employees and friends dressed up as iconic horror movie villains — including Freddy Krueger, Michael Meyers and Ghostface — and stood in formidable stances on their float, all the while less intimidating characters such as Garfield, Mr. Potato Head and Sally from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” passed out candy to the crowd.

Southern Indiana Renaissance Faire members also dressed in costume on their float, which was built to resemble a pirate ship.

The parade, which draws in hundreds of local and out-of-town spectators annually, also featured performances from high school bands including Seymour’s and Brownstown’s as well as routines performed by local dance studios, gymnastics teams and cheerleading squads.

Participating local businesses and organizations included Seymour Young Marines, Gymnastics Lane, Seymour Skate Rats, Cummins, Valeo, German American Bank, Jackson County Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Club, Seymour FFA, RE/MAX Professionals and the Jackson County Pride Alliance, among others.