Wurst New At Queen's Head Pub

What Harvard lacked in giant, House-sponsored dance parties this weekend, it made up for in wurst. Attendees at Oktoberfest, held in the Cambridge Queen’s Head, sampled a selection of authentic German sausages, side dishes, and of course, Oktoberfest beer.

Revelers, many of them filtering in from Comedy for a Cause in Sanders Theatre, enjoyed a pub decorated in blue and white Oktoberfest pennants. Female employees dressed in themed costume.

Alice E. M. Underwood ’11, a pub employee, recommended Bauernwurst as the best sausage and expressed enthusiasm for the event.

“We’re trying to get more undergrads to come here,” Underwood said. The pub opened in spring of last year to strengthen undergraduate social life at Harvard.

According to Nathan A. Taylor ’08, student manager of publicity and promotions, the two-night event hosted approximately 1,000 to 1,200 students on Friday night.

Saturday night was similarly busy. Taylor said that the event had been in the works since May of last year, with the Woodbridge Society helping to organize publicity and logistics.

Publicity was not alcohol-focused in order to draw a wider array of undergrads to the event. Even so, a large portion of the Saturday night crowd were seniors sipping an Oktoberfest brew.

Attendees compared the event to the real thing.

B. Alex Lewis ’08, an attendee, complimented the food and said, “I was hoping the pub would do something for Oktoberfest. I actually went to the real Oktoberfest last year.”

Meghan C. Joyce ’08 said, “I grew up in Germany, so I know that the food is good. I just ran into two German guys here for Head of the Charles and they said that it was good food too.”

Yongwoo D. Seo ’08 said he went to the pub “from time to time” and that he enjoyed the beer selection offered. He said he remembered when studious undergrads crammed for tests in the space where the pub is now located.

“I just feel kind of bad for the nerds that used to be here. Because where did they go?” Seo said.

At least one enthusiastic attendee went even further to demonstrate her Oktoberfest spirit by dressing up. Susana Bejar ’08, clad in a light blue “Bavarian beer wench” costume with white stockings, held a glass stein of German beer which she described as “really good.”

Perhaps the most surprising exhortation of the night came from a self-professed Yalie. Chris J. Hanson, now attending Harvard Divinity School, said, “My parents are very jingoistic Yalies and they love this. They want to come back here for the next three years.”