Deutsches Haus opens its gates Friday for its annual Oktoberfest. During the festival’s three-weekend run, an expected 24,000 New Orleanians will come to celebrate by dressing in their finest Alpine gear, shimmying to the chicken dance and consuming an extraordinary amount of food and drink.

“If past years are an indicator, festivalgoers will eat a modest 2 tons of German sausage, 2,000 pounds of German potato salad, 5,625 soft pretzels and 1,000 German pizzas,” said Cathy Olivier, Deutsches Haus public relations and social media committee member, as she listed off just a few of the many popular food items available at Oktoberfest.

Attendees will toast the event with 5,000 shots of Schnapps. And, of course, they'll gulp an inordinate amount of German beer.

“Our beer distributor told us

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