This Oktoberfest, raise your glass to 40 years of the CBCA

CLAYTON, CA (Sept. 19, 2024) — The Clayton Business and Community Association’s (CBCA) 19th Annual Oktoberfest comes as the organization celebrates 40 years of boosting local nonprofits, schools, the police and the city.

Led by a coalition of local businesses and volunteers, the group started under the moniker of the Clayton Business and Professional Association. According to the first full-term president, Gloria Utley, it began to expand right away.

“We wanted to build a merchants’ association downtown and then found out that we had some of the dentists and doctors and whoever in the 94521 area up the street who wanted to belong to it, too,” says Utley.

“It’s always been geared toward bringing together the city government, the businesses and members of the community – the residents,” she continues.

The first president quit halfway through the first year, leaving vice president Utley to take on the role. The Clayton Business and Professional Association was a 501(c)4 social welfare organization until 2013, when the CBCA became a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

Oktoberfest brings out the crowds

Oktoberfest is one of the CBCA’s main events, along with the spring Art & Wine Festival. Set for Oct. 5-6, this year’s Oktoberfest promises to be an especially exciting affair – including German beers, wine, live music and artisan booths.

The Grand Isle Fire Brigade will be the first band to perform on a second stage in the corral area of the Town Center on Saturday and Sunday. “Before the Internationals play on the main stage in the Biergarten on Saturday, the Grand Isle Fire Brigade will roam throughout town entertaining,” notes Oktoberfest organizer Marilyn Schmidt.

German beers and IPAs will be offered at the corral, which will transform into a second beer garden. Both bands will lead a procession during the ceremonial “tapping of the keg” at noon on Saturday.

In addition to schnapps and hard cider, there will be non-alcoholic beer for the sober crowd. The German Guys, hailing from a restaurant in Stockton, will serve traditional German food. Schmidt says that they will be stocked with Weinerschnitzel and currywurst in the food court. Giant German pretzels from Pure Grain Bakery in Vacaville will also be available.

CBCA’s own “MarktPlatz” booth will sell smokers, nutcrackers and ornaments made in Germany. Proceeds will be infused back into the community.

Rounding up the residents

The first fundraiser the CBCA ever threw was the 1984 Clayton Roundup. “It was kind of like a barn dance,” Utley recalls.

The whole community was involved, with the chief of police handling the barbecuing. Boasting a full menu and a bar, the committee pulled out all the stops. “We put together a dance floor with 4-by-8 sheets of one-inch exterior plywood,” Utley reports.

Within two weeks of promoting the event, the organization sold 350 tickets. The Roundup exceeded everyone’s expectations. “The day of the event, 500 people showed up,” says Utley.

The Roundup went on for years until it gave way to the Art & Wine Festival in 1996. The switch allowed the CBCA to scale up and hold the event over two days instead of one evening.

Everything came full circle for the association when it held its 40th anniversary celebration Roundup this June. Pat Middendorf, the group’s vice president of programs, volunteered to put on the event. “Our goal was to get 500 people there, and we got 500 people there,” she says.

Featuring commemorative slideshows and a band, the celebration raised about $60,000 through sponsorships and an auction.
Middendorf says it was a beautiful night. “It was one of those magical evenings where you’re doing a lot of belly laughing,” she muses. “It was just fun from the first minute on.”

Community causes are front and center

The most impressive thing about the CBCA is how much money and time the group has donated to the community over the years.

From their very first year, they have been decorating the Town Center for Christmas with decorations that Utley said were handmade by members. The organization once held Easter egg hunts in the Town Center and offered a “Teenager of the Year” award.

Keith Haydon says the club doesn’t always get credit for its events. “There’s often some confusion that (people) think it’s a chamber of commerce or the city of Clayton putting on those events,” he says, noting that it’s all done by CBCA volunteers. “And all the money raised is donated back into our community.”

The CBCA’s mark is all over the Town Center. Utley says that they provided some of the benches, the visually appealing containers that cover the trash cans and even the gazebo in the park. They also contributed two defibrillators to Town Center businesses, including one at Ed’s Mudville Grill.

Since 1993, the group has donated to the local Christmas For Everyone program, which offers free Christmas dinners, gently used clothing and Christmas gifts to underprivileged families. “We saw this as a wonderful opportunity to give back at Christmastime to the people that were less fortunate and wouldn’t have had a nice Christmas dinner,” says Haydon.

The CBCA gifted computers to the schools and police department, helped fund upgrades to the schools’ outdoor fields and financially supported school sports teams. They recently sponsored a school drama program, helping them to put on a play, and doled out funds to send Clayton Valley Charter High School’s choir to a national competition.

Post-COVID comeback

Even during the peak of COVID, when the CBCA had to skip its events, president CW Wolfe says they were still able to share with the community. “We wound up being able to tap into some of our reserves and our resources to give some money away.”

After COVID, Wolfe says the CBCA came back stronger than ever with events including Art & Wine, the BBQ Cook-Off and Oktoberfest. “People just started coming out in droves,” he says – with 2024’s Art & Wine their biggest yet.

The CBCA aims to continue to draw people to Clayton and support local businesses. “We want Clayton to be a beacon for people to come spend time, spend their money in our businesses and have some fun in our downtown,” Wolfe says.

He says that while Clayton might seem like a “sleepy” community, “we have things to offer here. You don’t just have to drive into Clayton and look around and drive out.”

People certainly won’t be driving straight through town the weekend of Oktoberfest. With 40 years of community service and fundraising under the organization’s belt, this Oktoberfest will mark the beginning of 40 more.

Note: Pioneer publisher, Tamara Steiner, is a member of the CBCA.