LEAVENWORTH, Wash. — Nearly ten months after severe winter storms knocked out the Christmas lights in Leavenworth – and tore through the tourist town’s holiday profits – the city is kicking off Oktoberfest with renewed hope.
The event, held over three weekends, brings in millions of tourism dollars and ranks second only to the city’s winter holiday season in economic impact.
But last December, shops, restaurants, and hotels lost business – some as much as 50 percent – when back-to-back atmospheric rivers caused damage, knocked out power, and took a chunk out of U-S 2, which is a major route into the city.
“Well, it was obviously quite a shock- you know, we’ve never had that big a storm,” said hat shop owner Kevin Rieke, who serves on the local chamber of commerce.
From his booth at the Oktoberfest event, he said some visitors had commented about the December storms.
“They hear the stories in the news, and they’re like, how did you guys fare? And we’re like- well, we survived, but we really appreciate you coming back.”
Jane Bushnell is one of the visitors who said she was saddened by the storms but warmed by what she saw in Leavenworth, Saturday.
“They have good community, and they bounce back, and everybody is super positive. I don’t think we’ve seen one unhappy face here this whole weekend.”
And KIRO 7 saw plenty of happy faces. “This is my first year, and vibes are good. Everyone’s so happy and friendly, said Cassidy Ogle. “We’ve just been having a blast,” said Nolen Luhan as he showed off the Bavarian-style clothing he and his friends were wearing. “We made sure we ordered our lederhosen and our dirndls.”
The smiles are encouraging to those who depend on tourism dollars.
“I know the number of ticket sales has probably exceeded previous years, so we’re back up and ready for an Oktoberfest party,” Rieke said.
Leavenworth businesses hope that momentum will carry through the holiday season.