LEAVENWORTH, Wash. — It's the small town celebration that draws thousands of people from all over the world!
Octoberfest in Bavarian-themed Leavenworth begins weekend mornings with a parade down Front Street, traditional dancers at the Festhalle, and of course plenty of beer.
It's the kind of event where you might run into old friends, which is exactly what happened to longtime resident Linda Phippen.
"It's just great," she said, looking high up on the Tannebaum building where dancing figurines perform at the top of the hour. "I'm just thrilled because it's just like being home again."
Phippen's brother carved the figures. Her father built the mechanism that made the glockenspiel one of the first major tourist attractions, back when this old timber town went all in on its Bavarian theme in the 1960's.
"One of the reasons to come to Leavenworth was to see the glockenspiel and see the dolls dance and listen to the German music on the hour," Phippen said.
But after 50 years, due to maintenance issues and a pigeon infestation, the glockenspiel went silent.
Volunteer Tom Phillips teamed up with The Greater Leavenworth Museum to restore the attraction.
"We took everything apart. I took it all out, cleaned it, put it all back together," Phillips said. "The figurines I thought was going to be a challenge, but when we got 'em out we found out they were in pristine shape. We just had to touch them up so that challenge went away.
"All of a sudden we flipped the switch and lo and behold, the thing turned loose and it was incredible how everybody on the street — I mean everybody — stopped in their tracks, turned around looked up. It just made my heart warm and now it's back."
"Tom is a bit of a hero in this story because his passion is what made the glockenspiel able to be revived," said the museum's Christie Voos.
Finally joining the celebration after nearly 14 years away, the festive foursome are dancing again giving everyone in Leavenworth another reason to cheer.
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