Shellabration is returning to its Oleson Park roots - but with a German flavor.

Oktoberfest, set for Oct. 10 at the band shell, is Shellabration's newest venture. A departure from the group's usual summer rock concerts, Shellabration President Jim Reed is confident the event will be a crowd-pleaser.

"What's exciting about this whole concept is, anybody who's ever come to a Shellabration show and has come to know and love what it is we do - and that's serving up a great party - if they come to this show, they won't be disappointed." Reed said.

Oktoberfest lends itself into a number of directions, he said, and Shellabration organizers plan to tap into as many as possible.

"We're going to try to recreate the whole Oktoberfest-Deutschland-Bavarian-German Bier hall feel to the extent that we can," he said.

To that end, Shellabration's celebration will feature music, food and drink reminiscent of the culture and traditions of the original Oktoberfest, Reed said.

The opening band will be Malek's Fishermen, a group that will be featured at the Midwest Polka Fest in Humboldt this weekend and regularly plays at the Hessen Haus in Des Moines. The Garner-based band plays a mix of polka and dance hall music that Reed hopes will draw people to the dance floor brought in for the event.

The headliner isn't a traditional German group, but has a strong area following: Vic Ferrari. A seven-man group from Wisconsin, Vic Ferrari is a show band that has been featured at Livermore Days and draws sell-out crowds to Clear Lake's legendary Surf Ballroom.

"I can't say enough about Vic Ferrari. This band will blow you away," Reed said.

The group's song list runs the gamut from Fleetwood Mac to Queen to AC/DC.

Basic German fare - including bratwurst, sauerkraut, hot German potato salad, and sweet and sour red cabbage - will be on the menu.

"We are in the process of making contacts with other entities that might want to serve as food vendors," he said. "We're trying to have a good mix so if people aren't into the whole German food scene, we'll still have something for their tastes."

It can't be a Bier hall without beer, and Reed said both imports and domestic beers will be served. In the Deutschland tradition, Oktoberfest will kick off with the ceremonial tapping of the first keg shortly before 5 p.m.

To avoid competing with the Iowa-Michigan football game, a less-traditional option is a live feed of the game that will be projected on a Jumbotron at Oleson Park.

"It's for those who want to take part in Oktoberfest but don't want to miss the big game," Reed said. "We are going to be the most eclectic sports bar with a German motif."

Shellabration Inc. is a nonprofit group that originally held fundraising concerts at the band shell to help pay for renovations to the structure. The last Shellabration concert held at Oleson Park featured the Little River Band and The Grassroots on July 1, 2004. The concerts were moved to other locations to accommodate work on the band shell.

Shellabration's return to the band shell has been in the works for some time, Reed said. However, the idea of launching Oktoberfest there was a more recent concept.

"Our goal is to bring another event that complements the existing events but also defines itself as having a distinctly different feel, flavor, look and, potentially, appeal. Our mission, simply stated, is to serve the greater Fort Dodge community through performing arts and entertainment.

"We also aspire to be a significant tourism draw and, most importantly, we view ourselves as a community-building organization," he said. "If the day after a Shellabration show, people wake up and see their community in a little more positive light, then we've done our job."

Contact Barbara Wallace Hughes at (515) 573-2141 or bwh@messengernews.net