The Schwarzbier brewed especially for Oregon’s Alpenfest sprays from the first keg to be ceremonially tapped by Grady Nelson, left, Terminal Gravity’s marketing manager, as Frank Helderman steadies the keg Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022.

JOSEPH — Yodeling, alphorns, alpine music, polka dancing, beer and brats all return to Oregon’s “Little Switzerland” this week as Oregon’s Alpenfest brings all these to Wallowa County.

Alpenfest in the Wallowa Mountains has

been entertaining visitors and locals in

Swiss-Bavarian style since 1975, produced by

a nonprofit organization, governed by a local board of directors and staffed by an army of volunteers.

But it’s also led by an alpenmeister, the guy in a Tyrolean hat — a Tirolerhut — and the traditional lederhosen reflective of the Swiss-Bavarian Alpine region.

Veteran alpenmeister

For the past dozen years, the alpenmeister has been Chuck Anderson, who came to Wallowa County in 2009.

“I was living in California at the time,” he said. “I’m staying here. I’m not going back to California.”

Like many, when Anderson came here, he fell in love with the area and has no desire to leave.

“When I was being recruited, I had never been to Eastern Oregon. So I did some research on Wallowa County and one of the things that I discovered was that they had this festival called Alpenfest, which I thought was really great,” he said. I thought I would enjoy that if I actually got the job. So when I moved here, I discovered that two years before they had discontinued Alpenfest. I was kind of disappointed.”

He said the festival, held at the century-old Edelweiss Inn at Wallowa Lake, had been discontinued because the few businesses there were becoming weary of the work it involved and the few volunteers they could attract.

“My understanding is that the attendance was flagging, so they just discontinued it,” Anderson said.

That wasn’t to last.

“In 2011, there was a small group of folks who owned businesses in Joseph who missed Alpenfest, and every year they had visitors come who would ask, ‘Whatever happened to the Alpenfest?’ So people missed it and they were talking about reviving it,” he said. “I retired in 2011 … and I thought reviving Alpenfest was a great idea, so I joined up with these guys. Since I was retired and they had businesses to run, they elected me the alpenmeister.”

But it wasn’t as easy as tapping a beer.

“In 2011, we were hoping to have an Alpenfest, but it took longer to set everything up and to hire the performers and all that for 2011 so the first actual new Alpenfest was in 2012,” Anderson said.

And it’s been going since then — with him as alpenmeister, until now.

“I’m pushing 80 and I’ve been doing this for 12 years. For the last couple of years, I have been pestering my board of directors to come up with a succession plan,” he said.

So the board found Stefan and Molly Hasselblad, Molly having become president of the board and Stefan to be the new alpenmeister.

Anderson said that during his tenure at the helm of the festival, he’s seen a number of improvements. One of the best is the regular attendance of the Polkatones, a Bavarian-style polka dance band formerly out of Tillamook but now based near Seattle. They often play as the Tirolean Dancers of Oregon do traditional polkas for the audience — entertainment by this popular dance troupe is another longtime tradition at Alpenfest.

Alpenfest also has welcomed accordion groups, such as Mollie B and Squeezebox and others.

“We’ve had a couple different bands to liven things up over the years and I think that was healthy,” Anderson said. “Except for a couple of years during the pandemic, we’ve had really good attendance year after year.”

Although they don’t regularly keep an exact count — beyond the number of tickets sold and beers and brats served — he estimated anywhere from 600 to 850 people regularly attend.

Fresh leadership

“I just think it’s time for new, younger leadership with fresh ideas, and we were very lucky to have Stefan and Molly volunteer to be my successors,” Anderson said.

Molly, who spent most of her life in the Baker City area, is the director of accounting services at Jitasa, an accounting and bookkeeping service for nonprofits. Stefan, originally from Salem, is an attorney, writer and rancher. Molly has deep roots in Wallowa County, her mother having ranched on Crow Creek east of Enterprise.

“She used to roller-skate at the Edelweiss,” she said of her mother. “Once, she even went through a window there. They’ve had a cabin right next door to the Edelweiss my entire life. While I’m a recent resident, I’ve been coming here my whole life.”

The couple actually moved here in 2021 when they married. But she’s been coming to Alpenfest since 2014.

“It’s Molly’s roots that led us to be a part of it,” Stefan said. “Last year, I volunteered and she became president of the board. My job is going to be very ceremonial. I’m going to be the emcee of it, while Molly is doing the real organizing.”

As the Hasselblads take over, they’re mindful of Alpenfest’s past and have plans for its future. They said they don’t want to change it much. One thing they do want to do is expand the menu. That hadn’t been fully decided upon at the time of their interview, but they want more than beer and brats.

The last Alpenfest held in the Edelweiss was in 2018, Anderson said. The old structure was too dilapidated to continue to host it, and the next year the festival took place under rented tents in the parking lot of the Wallowa State Park Marina.

The Hasselblads are aware of the state’s plans to build an events center at the marina in which they hope to be able to hold future Alpenfests.

The event had to be canceled for the COVID-19 pandemic and it wasn’t until last fall that it was moved to Joseph. Initially, it was planned to be held in the Thunder Room, but firefighting efforts had taken over that venue as a command center and Alpenfest was moved to the Joseph Community Events Center.

The future?

“The community center worked so well we thought why not keep it at the community center,” Stefan Hasselblad said. “We’re going to make use of that lawn across the street” at the old elementary school where the Forest Service now has offices. They’ll be having kids’ games on the lawn.

He said the board has realized it can afford to lower admission prices, given how well the event has done in the past.

“It’s been $25 admission to the indoor concert,” he said. “This year it’s $10 and thanks to a donation from Les Schwab, veterans and first responders and active-duty military get half off of that, so that’s only $5. We’ve gotten some positive feedback on that. … We’re happy to be able to do that and pleased that Les Schwab was able to help.”

He noted that kids are free.

Another thing planned is an alphorn concert at the top of Mount Howard. The only cost to attend is the cost of a Tram ticket. Although the alphorn concert isn’t new, it’s been a few years since it was held at the summit.

Alpenfest organizers also hope to do concerts for folks in retirement homes, some of whom came to Alpenfest for nearly 50 years but now are unable.

“We’re doing a concert at the Wallowa Valley Senior Living Center in Enterprise for folks who had gone to Alpenfest for years, but may not be able to make the show in person this year. So we’ll bring the show to them,” Stefan said, adding that in future years they’ll make effort to include Alpine House in Joseph.

“We’re going to make every effort to do more shows like that in the future,” he said.

Traditionally, Alpenfest has started with a parade down Main Street in Enterprise to the gazebo at the courthouse. But this year, they’re planning to limit the Enterprise portion of the festival to Terminal Gravity and make a bigger production there. That includes the ceremonial tapping of the first keg of beer brewed specifically for Alpenfest.

“We’re doing it all at Terminal Gravity,” Stefan said.

But they still need volunteers, he said.

Anderson said they usually get about 50-60 helpers, and the new alpenmeister said they could use about 100.

What: Oregon Alpenfest 2023

When: Sept. 28 – Oct. 1

Where: Wallowa County

SCHEDULE

In print: Featured in the Sept. 21-28 edition of Go! Magazine, published by Eastern Oregon Media Group.

Online:

• www.oregonalpenfest.com

• www.facebook.com/AlpenfestOR