Local focus and taking things to the next level make Ocean Beach’s annual Oktoberfest so special, say event organizers.

And, closing out this year’s two-day event on Oct. 6-7 making it something truly extraordinary, will be a theatrical musical performance by Ocean Beach-based band Strawberry Disco Circus. The circus “crew,” decked out in big top costuming, will perform at 10:15 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7.

Heather Hudson, OB Oktoberfest’s director of marketing and partnerships, talked about what goes into staging the beach extravaganza on back-to-back days each year, and what makes OB’s version of Oktoberfest so unique.

“Every year we bring in a new bigger and different lineup and we pride ourselves on having fun musical and other acts both local and national, with contests on stage in-between those acts,” noted Hudson. She added Friday’s music lineup features Afroman, King Julian, Electric Waste Band, and Vokab Kompany, while Saturday’s headliners include Ballyhoo!, The Gravities, Paging the ’90s, Lady Dottie & The Diamonds, Band of Gringos, and the acrobatic Strawberry Disco Circus. She added Saturday’s event schedule also includes an Ofest drag show at 7:15 p.m.

Proceeds from this year’s OB Oktoberfest once again will support community groups and nonprofits including Ocean Beach MainStreet Association’s Friends of OB Program, The Peninsula Alliance, and The Warrior Foundation Freedom Station, which supports transitioning and rehabilitating servicemen and women.

“The event raises over $50,000 per year for community partners and has raised $750,000 total to date,” said Hudson who added Oktoberfest organizers have pledged funding to help the nonprofit Warrior Foundation build a third Freedom Station housing project.

Hudson said the core team staging OB Oktoberfest is small, just a handful of people, but their contribution to the event and the community is huge. “It’s very much a community effort,” she said. “One person can’t take credit for this.”

Hudson added, “We are always looking to grow and evolve, and we’re always willing to take feedback from the community to make the event better.”

Shine Ray, spokesperson for Strawberry Disco Circus, noted the band, a project of The Template on Niagara Avenue in OB, has an ensemble cast including four stilt artists and an aerialist.

“The name comes from our love of theater performance, funk, and disco,” said Ray, who comes from a family that worked with Cirque de Soleil.

Of their act, Ray said: “We create this immersive experience, an original musical where our performers go out into the crowd and create individual ‘moments.’ Instead of just witnessing something, it’s something you’re a part of. All of our characters will be interacting in some way with the audience.”

Ray said their musical circus troop is comprised of 15 to 20 performers. “Everyone is in costume and it’s just non-stop funk and disco circus, literally,” he said adding, “Picture a Cirque de Soleil show. All the music is remixed disco and funk. It’s really high-energy, almost like a mashup, with between 50 and 70 tracks per set. Funk and disco is the vibe.”

Ray said some of the musicians whose music will be remixed in their set include Herbie Hancock, Heatwave, and Earth, Wind & Fire. “It is a spectacle,” he said of their show adding, “You just get thrown into the experience.” He added the troop is currently engaged in creating sets for their show.

“We started this project because we all love disco, wanted to catch lightning in a bottle and do something that would really put us on the map,” concluded Ray. He added, “It was huge that we get to close out this show on the big stage. It is such a unique project. It hits all the notes. The performances, there’s just so much to see and hear at one time. It’s just grooving nonstop.”