By John Huxman Special to the Tribune

This year, Pratt’s annual Oktoberfest will be held at Lemon Park instead of at the Green Sports Complex as in its previous four years. Three of the event’s organizers, Jackie Mundt, Dakota Holtgrieve, and Scott Goodheart presented their reasons for the change of venue to the Pratt City Board of Commissioners at its July 5th meeting. Mayor Deeds was not able to be present at the meeting as he was in the hospital.

Pratt’s Oktoberfest has grown since its inception five years ago. Lemon Park will provide Oktoberfest the room that it needs to continue expanding. At the Green Sports Complex their tent took up much of the flat ground available and they were at their space capacity. Lemon Park will be large enough to allow the presence of food trucks, has more space for games and events, and has many trees that can be used for shade.

Discussion in the meeting centered around the presence of alcohol at Oktoberfest. Lemon Park has not previously been used for events at which alcohol was served. City Attorney Goff pointed out that, by ordinance, such an event must be surrounded by a physical barrier. The event’s organizers plan to use temporary fencing in order to satisfy this requirement and also to funnel all visitors through a single entrance. This both ensures that everyone present is at least twenty-one and that they have paid the price of admission. “It’s in our best interest to make sure that only people [who] are supposed to be there [are there.]” Said Jackie. In the past, Oktoberfest has made more than thirty-five thousand dollars of which ten to twelve thousand has been given to charity. The Commissioners approved the use of Lemon Park for Oktoberfest. The event will be on September 30 from 5-10 p.m. The park will be closed to normal use during the event.

The commissioners also:

*Approved the use of May Dennis Park for a disc golf tournament called Kev’s Kids. Kev’s Kids is a fundraising event that will be held Saturday, July the 9th from noon to 6 p.m., in order benefit the three daughters of Kevin Biles. Biles, himself a disc golfer, passed away May 18 in Pratt.

*Approved a second Disc Golf Tournament; the annual Hot and Cold Classic. It will be at May Dennis on August 20. Neither disc golf event will require the park to be closed but there will need to be additional trash cans and benches put out.

*Ashley Smith née Fitzsimmons, the new Executive Director of the Chamber…