Traditional German food, German beer, live bands, arts and crafts vendors, games and wide-screen televisions with college and pro-football games will be at the Ironton Oktoberfest next Saturday and Sunday.

This is the second Oktoberfest put on by the Friends of Ironton and it is being promoted as Ironton’s largest tailgate party.

Hank Haller will be performing and he will also be celebrating 50 years of music.

“He played here years ago and we feel real fortunate to get him down here this year,” said Rick Jensen, president and co-founder of the Friends of Ironton. “He’s pretty well known around these parts. A lot of people who have been in Ironton for a while will come down and see him. He was a big hit here.”

Besides the Hank Haller Ensemble, two bands will be performing, the Zinzinnati Bierband and the Klaberheads, providing music throughout the day.

Last year, rain hampered the event, but the Friends of Ironton is preparing for any kind of weather by setting up two large tents.

“It was a really tough year for us,” Jensen said.

A cornhole tournament will net the winners a small cash prize and trophies.

Registration for the tournament will be from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday. The game will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday and finish up on Sunday.

“It’s a blind draw,” he said. “You don’t know who your partner is going to be.”

Also, there will be a stein-holding competition and a stein race.

In the stein-holding competition, whoever can hold three steins of beer in each hand without spilling a drop will be declared the winner.

In the stein race, the contestants will hold the three steins in each hand while going through a set of obstacles. For each spill a second of time is added to the time and whoever has the least amount of time will win.

The event is Saturday from noon until 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 6 p.m.

Booth space is still available. For more information on renting a vendor space, call Angie at (740) 479-1736.