La Crosse Oktoberfest button design winner shows laughing couple carrying beers

A couple laughing and carrying beers. That’s this year’s Oktoberfest La Crosse button design, unveiled on Thursday.

Onalaska native Joseph Kinstler, who now lives in Madison, submitted the winning that was shown off during the annual Forks and Corks fundraiser at the Cargill Room. Kinstler has now won twice in the past three years.

The button shows that this year’s Oktoberfest, the 63rd year of the festival, will run four days, beginning Sept. 26.

Forks and Corks raises money for the Oktoberfest scholarship program, with funds being given this year to students at 13 area schools.

Forks and Corks board member Eric Loewenhagen said the amount of scholarship money given out grew to $14,000 this year.

“We were able to up it to 14 one-thousand dollar scholarships,” Loewenhagen said. “There are 13 that go to all local area high schools as far out as De Soto, Melrose-Mindoro, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, plus all the locals here, as well as the yearly winner of the Miss La Crosse-Oktoberfest scholarship pageant.”

Loewenhagen added that recipients each year are asked to submit a short video about how they use their scholarship money, mostly used to pay for rising educational costs.