It was Mollie Busta, of the band Squeezebox, who first approached Wally Pretzer about the possibility of
reaching out  to university students to get them interested in polka dancing.
The young multi-instrumentalist was used to playing at gigs like those at the Bavarian Haus in Deshler
that attracted an older crowd.
Pretzer, a retired Bowling Green State University professor, said he’d see what he could do. He
approached the Department of German, Russian and East Asian Languages and the German Club.
The result was Squeezebox was booked to played the  BGSU Oktoberfest in 2012.
It went so well that the band wanted to come back, and the German Club was glad to host them.
The third Oktoberfest will be held Wednesday from 6:30 to  11 p.m. in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom in the
Bowen-Thompson Student Union on the BGSU campus.
Geoff Howes, the adviser for the German Club, said that the event has evolved into a true town-gown
event.
Of the about 300 people who attended about half were from off campus, many traveling from Deshler and
Henry County. The students, he said, were impressed that there were people so dedicated to polka that
they would travel so far.
The event is an example of a very old tradition that continues on into the preset.
Howes said Oktoberfest and other expressions of German-American culture have been revived after falling
by the wayside during World War II.
Oktoberfest on BGSU, he noted, has attracted support of the Ethnic Cultural Arts program, a recognition
of the importance of maintaining German-American cultural traditions.
Pretzer said that the event has also drawn more support from the community including the Chamber of
Commerce and the Bowling Green Convention and Visitors Bureau.
In addition to dancing to the sounds of Squeezebox, the event will feature traditional Oktoberfest food
and beer, including an Oktoberfest brew, for purchase. Cost of admission and food is $10,. Students will
be admitted for free but must pay $5 for food. Soft drinks and popcorn will be available for free.
Free parking will be available in the lots on Thurstin Avenue across from the student union.