Dueling Oktoberfests Face Off In Chelan County, US District Court
The City of Leavenworth, WA is Taking Longtime Festival Organizer Projekt Bayern to Court Over its Use of the Phrase "Leavenworth Oktoberfest"
Next week lawyers representing the City of Leavenworth, Washington, are set to face off against attorneys for the Leavenworth-based non-profit Projekt Bayern in front of a United States District Court judge in Spokane over rights to the phrase “Leavenworth Oktoberfest.” The City of Leavenworth is seeking, among other things, an injunction against Projekt Bayern for the use of the phrase in the marketing of its concurrent event about 20 miles away in Wenatchee.
Bayern has titled its event “Leavenworth Oktoberfest in Wenatchee,” set up signage with that branding, and posted on Facebook: “There is no Oktoberfest in Leavenworth this year.”
The city contends that Leavenworth’s Oktoberfest IS happening and that it’s IN Leavenworth. They have been marketing the event and selling tickets to it on their website.
A Little History
Since 1998, Leavenworth has been home to what became one of the most famous Oktoberfest festivals outside Germany, according to event organizers. Projekt Bayern trademarked the phrase “Leavenworth Oktoberfest” and it has been one of the organization’s leading annual events, accounting for a large portion of its annual revenue, which in 2019 was more than $1.8 million, according to ProPublica.
Back To The Story
But in 2020, Covid broke up the party. In 2021, the city and Projekt Bayern wanted to bring the festival back, but Bayern canceled it again, citing supply chain disruptions. According to the city in a complaint for declaratory judgment filed on July 20, 2022, Projekt Bayern did hold an event in 2021 and failed to pay the city the $50,000 it was contractually obligated to.
In addition, activities Bayern sponsored were “becoming a safety and sanitation issue for the City,” city lawyers wrote.
“Accordingly, the City was concerned that aspects of the Leavenworth Oktoberfest celebration run by Defendant did not properly account for the wellbeing and safety of the City, its citizens, and its visitors,” they wrote.
After the contract was canceled, Projekt Bayern initiated a harassment campaign against the city, according to the city’s complaint.
“Defendant called the City ‘stupid arrogant new people,’” city lawyers wrote. “And stated that Defendant is the ‘only ones [sic] that came [sic] run this event and make it profitable!’”
According to Leavenworth, Projekt Bayern is misleading and trying to confuse consumers intentionally.
“On July 6, 2022, Defendant posted on its Facebook page a statement that the City was ‘lying to its visitors’ about the Leavenworth Oktoberfest and stating that ‘there is no Oktoberfest in Leavenworth,’” the city’s lawyers wrote. “Contrary to Defendant’s false statement, the City intends to hold and will hold the Leavenworth Oktoberfest celebration in Leavenworth, Washington in 2022.”
Leavenworth contends that Projekt Bayern’s attempts to deceive the public are likely to result in a direct diversion of its revenue and a lessening of the goodwill associated with the City’s services.
So in its prayer for relief to the Eastern District Court, the city asked for a trial by jury and for the court to declare that Projekt Bayern’s trademark of the phrase “Leavenworth Oktoberfest” is invalid and unenforceable and bar Bayern from using the phrase without the city’s permission. Leavenworth is also asking the court to force Projekt Bayern to stop saying that the city is not hosting its own Oktoberfest this year.
The following month Projekt Bayern responded and also demanded a jury trial to decide the matter.
In its prayer for relief, Bayern’s lawyers asked the judge to dismiss Leavenworth’s complaint with prejudice, declare that it owns the trademark for “Leavenworth Oktoberfest,” and compensate Projekt Bayern “for all gains, profits and advantages derived by the City of Leavenworth for its unlawful acts,” Bayern’s lawyers wrote.
They also want the city to cover Bayern’s legal fees.
In her declaration, Leavenworth’s communications analyst Christie Voos said she had been contacted by members of the public who mistakenly bought tickets to Projekt Bayern’s event in Wenatchee but were intending to purchase tickets to Oktoberfest in Leavenworth.
She included the transcript of a voicemail she received from one such member of the public on Sept. 9, 2022.
Tainted Brew: How National Politics Factor In
Like nearly everything these days, the conflict between the city and Projekt Bayern over Oktoberfest has political overtones. In screenshots attached to his declaration, city attorney Ethan Vodde included images of conversations on Projekt Bayern’s Facebook page, which is the organization’s primary communication tool.
One man with the username Dan Benjamin blamed mayor Carl Florea for canceling Leavenworth’s Oktoberfest and made an assertion about Florea’s political leanings.
“Liberal Leavenworth mayor has cancelled Oktoberfest in Leavenworth. Wenatchee picked it up,” he wrote.
Projekt Bayern board member Steve Lord has also had much to say about Mayor Florea and politics on social media.
In a Facebook post shared by Projekt Bayern’s Facebook page, Lord wrote that groups looking to put on an event like Oktoberfest should stay away from Leavenworth, or “the city will lie and steal to take it away.”
Lord has been even more candid about his disdain for Florea and the “new people” he views as ruining Leavenworth in other Facebook posts in the past. In a post published just days before the 2020 presidential election, he detailed how he had noted Leavenworth residents who had Joe Biden signs in their yards and lamented how the “new people” were destroying “our home” in a comment below his post.
“I hope everyone is paying attention to the signs in the neighborhoods,” Lord wrote. “If your neighbors have Biden signs in their yard they are not my neighbors they are the community enemies and they need to go. I have spent the last couple weeks documenting who has these signs in their yards. When we go into war these people will need to be dealt with first. Time to make the new people that are ruining town leave. Have a great day.”
What’s Next
Well, two Oktoberfests less than 30 minutes away from each other this October in Chelan County. As for who has the right to use the phrase “Leavenworth Oktoberfest” in their communications and marketing, that topic will be debated by lawyers for both sides during a hearing at 10 am on Sept. 27, 2022, in Spokane at the US District Court, Eastern District.
I reached out to both Projekt Bayern and the City of Leavenworth for comment on this story, but Projekt Bayern has not responded. If they do, I will update this piece.
Communications analyst Christie Voos responded for Leavenworth with this statement:
“The City of Leavenworth has no problem with a business that wants to put on an Oktoberfest event in Wenatchee. Visitors to Leavenworth are drawn to our city’s unique Bavarian charm, and we recognize that some patrons may prefer the different experience the Wenatchee event will offer. But labeling the Wenatchee event ‘Leavenworth Oktoberfest’ virtually guarantees that the public will be confused, and we’ve documented many examples of confusion already,” Voos wrote. “Projekt Bayern Association has known for months that Leavenworth would host an Oktoberfest celebration, and in July the City asked them not to call the Wenatchee event ‘Leavenworth Oktoberfest,’ but they refused. The City then had little choice but to ask the Court to intervene.”
It’s an interesting story, and I will continue to follow the court case as it progresses. I’m also looking into the history and metamorphosis of Projekt Bayern from its inception to its current form and will publish more on that in the future.
If you are a supporting subscriber, you can view all the complaints, motions, and declarations filed regarding this case below.