“Traffic’s pretty messed up, pretty congested,” he said, gesturing toward the snarl of outbound traffic snaking down Mass. Ave.

Further down in the Square, business among food vendors picked up as the afternoon went on. Marie’s Apples, selling caramel-coated fruit, was doing a “steady business” at lunchtime, as were vendors selling less traditional street-fair foods.

Jamaican curry goat went for eight dollars a plate, while a few feet away, falafel, humus and tabouli sizzled at the Sabra Grill; chicken masala from the Diva Indian Bistro and Thai fried rice rounded out a mix of ethnic dishes.

Classic German fare was scarce, but at the Sausage Connection, steak tips, kielbasa and Italian sausages were the top sellers, said cook Harry Pateras.

Judith J. Li ’06 and Hebah M. Ismail ’06 browsed among jewelry, sweaters and artwork spread out by vendors.

“We’re looking for bargains, since we’re poor college students,” Ismail said, adding that she was enjoying the lively crowd in the Square. “This is great; this is why we tolerate Boston closing at midnight on the weekends.”

Also enjoying the festivities were Josh L. Stern ’05 and Andrew T. Budreika ’05, who browsed among the vendor stalls.

“It’s cool to have no cars out here,” Stern said. “We just got swept away in all this.”

The small size of the Harvard Square Oktoberfest makes it a convenient walk-through for visitors, Lapidus said.

“It’s a very easy circuit,” she said. “You can see everything in two hours, then go back and decide what to buy.”

Rogus and Beatty scoped out different food vendors before planning to buy lunch.

“We’ve done a lot of walking around,” Rogus said. “We’re taking a lap before we commit to a location.”