Local
‘Forks & Corks’ raising scholarship funds
If you saw people wearing lederhosen or heard someone singing Ein Prosit in downtown La Crosse Thursday night, it isn’t Oktoberfest yet, but the spirit of the fest and community was present raising funds for student scholarships.
The tenth annual Forks & Corks event featured a multi-course meal along with silent and live auctions at the Cargill Room.
The Gemutlichkeit Foundation, the charitable foundation of Oktoberfest USA, raises money for scholarships for students at 13 area schools plus one for the winner of the Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest Scholarship Program. Each recipient receives $1,000 in scholarships, or $14,000 total.
One of this year’s winners, Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest Savannah Horstman, says each scholarship makes a difference.
“It could change the life of many high school students and ease their financial burden. And pursuing a higher education is a lot of people’s dreams, but they’re unable to achieve because of high loan burden and stuff like that. So the fact that our community is able to come together and help out these kids who want to become these future leaders of America, is really important.”
This year’s scholarship recipients are:
Camryn Theis-Aquinas
Sophie Kassera-Bangor
Cassidy Burrill-Central
Silas Buchner-De Soto
Emma Hull-Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau
Erica Fechner-Holmen
Lori Haack-La Crescent
Maggie Herath-Logan
Dulce Maria Ascencio-Urtiz-Onalaska
Elizabeth Kuehner-Onalaska Luther
Viola Finch-Melrose-Mindoro
Livvy Nelson-Westby
Thompson Stenberg-West Salem
Savannah Horstman-2024 Miss La Crosse Oktoberfest
The event also featured the official unveiling of this year’s Oktoberfest button. This year, Minnesota artist James Whitaker’s design won.
Oktoberfest is a four-day event beginning on September 25.
