New Cincinnati chamber event planner puts fresh spin on Oktoberfest Zinzinnati
Chelsea Brown York was hired as the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber's vice president of events and experience in April.
York has only been on the job six months, but she's already making changes to to Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, the second-largest Oktoberfest in the world after the one in Munich, Germany.
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati kicks off Thursday, which means this year it's four days instead of the usual three. It's moved: You'll find it on Fifth Street instead of the south end of the Downtown due to a home Cincinnati Bengals game on Sunday. Three of the tents will have art installations − a six-foot pretzel-shaped chandelier made of yarn, giant sunflowers and flying wiener dogs suspended from the ceiling.
York joined The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast this week to talk about bringing a fresh perspective to chamber events and what to expect at this year's Oktoberfest.
York came to the chamber after nine years at Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., where she last served as events director.
To borrow from Bravo, if York had a Real Housewives of Cincinnati tagline it might be, "I'm new here, but I'm not new." She uses that line often, she said.
The chamber hosts four large-scale events: Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, Taste of Cincinnati, the Asian Food Fest, and Blink, which is returning next year.
Listen to Chelsea Brown York's full conversation with "That's So Cincinnati" for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Media and other podcast listening platforms.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What goes into planning Oktoberfest Zincinnati
