Hydref: Powys town's quirky tribute to Oktoberfest

And later this month locals will get the chance to raise a couple of steins and pay homage to the world’s most iconic beer festival – Oktoberfest.

Hydref (October in Welsh) is taking place at the Strand Hall on Friday, October 21, from 7.30pm, and is the brainchild of Elwyn Davies, a local businessman who decided that he wanted to use turning 40 into a community affair.

Now, he hopes, his innovative birthday bash and tribute to Oktoberfest can become an annual event in the Builth calendar, while this year raising money for a local charity.

“It was my 40th a couple of weeks ago and just as I am starting to come to terms with this new grim reality, I am delighted to announce that we are going to be holding a little knees-up at the Strand Hall on Friday, October 21,” said Elwyn, the man behind local tech firm PixelHaze, in a Facebook post.

“With a bit of luck, what is currently a party with an open invitation will hopefully become a regular fixture in the Builth Wells calendar.

“With a huge amount of help from the PixelHaze team, Black Sheep Promotions, Jungle Productions and Louise Hammond, we are now able to announce Hydref. Our little tribute to Oktoberfest.

“I am going to try my best to invite people directly, but please take this as an invite to come along to my belated 40th bash.”

All profits from the event will be donated to Builth Wells Community Support.

It’s a wonder an Oktoberfest-themed event in Builth hasn’t poured from someone’s mind until now. Ale flows in Builth almost as fast as the River Wye that runs alongside the town. A short pub crawl can take you from the Llanelwedd Arms just across the bridge, then into the town centre where you can snake between The Lamb, Fountain, White Horse, White Hart and the Greyhound – not to mention the rugby club and golf club which are open on regular evenings throughout the week also.

In 2018, Powys came top of a Wales-wide list for the highest concentration of pubs or bar per person, and the third highest in the UK, boasting a pub or bar for every 448 people, with a total of 296 pubs, bars, or clubs amidst a population of a little more than 132,000.

Apply that to Builth’s eight watering holes (OK, the Llanelwedd Arms is in Llanelwedd, but is essentially a suburb of Builth, and the golf and rugby clubs aren’t fully operational pubs) and with a local population of approximately 2,829 people – that’s a pub for every 353 people.

Oktoberfest is held annually in the German capital Munich and has been a staple of Bavarian tradition since first being celebrated in 1810. It is a 16 to 18-day folk festival running from mid or late September to around the first Sunday in October, with more than six million international and national visitors attending.

During the event, large quantities of beer is consumed – in 2014 7.7 million litres were served, the most ever consumed.

Visitors also enjoy numerous attractions, such as amusement rides, sidestalls and games, while a wide variety of traditional Bavarian foods are also available.

Over the last 200 years, other cities across the world have also mimicked Oktoberfest celebrations, modelled on the original Munich event.

Rather than being a simple carbon copy of Oktoberfest, however, Hydref will have a Celtic and folk twist.

This will include local live bands, playing traditional folk songs and popular modern hits, as well as a range of locally-sourced food, following traditional Bavarian themes. From fresh-baked rustic bread to an assortment of meats, cheese, jams and chutneys, all finished off with locally sourced fruit baskets.

Book your seat on one of the banquet tables for a truly unique Builth Wells welcome. Bavarian and Oktoberfest-themed beer will be available at the bar. You’re welcome to bring your own stein…or even lederhosen!

Tickets are available on the Builth Wells town website https://builthwells.org/hydref-2022/p/hydref, as well as at the Strand Cafe, The Fountain and Builth Wells Community Support.