It’s Oktoberfest Time!

Bring on the lederhosen, dirndls, oom-pah music and beer!

By Kendall Jones

Photo at right: courtesy of Fremont Oktoberfest

Whistler Village Beer Festival

Legendary outdoor adventure opportunities await you year-round in Whistler, BC. So, you really need no excuse to visit but maybe this provides the final excuse to head north. Last year, the inaugural Whistler Village Beer Festival sold out, so organizers are back for a second year determined to make it bigger and better.

The event takes place in the Olympic Plaza Amphitheater in the heart of the village, with more than 50 breweries pouring beer, for those of us who are more than 19 years old (the legal drinking age in BC), at the base of what many consider North America’s most epic mountains.

Sept. 11 –14: Gates open at noon.

www.wvbf.ca

Dachshund race starting gate. Photo courtesy of Mt Angel Oktoberfest

Mount Angel Oktoberfest

This is Oregon’s longest-running festival. Mount Angel began calling it Oktoberfest in 1966, but the community began hosting some kind of harvest festival in the late 1800s.

Expect to see plenty of beer, schnitzel and lederhosen, but this event also includes a marathon, arts and crafts fair, car show, wiener dog races and more. Kids are welcome to join their parents in the biergarten until 9 p.m.

Be sure to try the Mount Angel Maibock, a beer brewed exclusively for this event by Two Kilts Brewing Co.

Sept. 11 –13: 11 a.m.– midnight
Sept. 14: 11 a.m.– 9 p.m.

www.oktoberfest.org

Bellingham Oktoberfest

This year will mark the first official Bellingham Oktoberfest, the main event of the third annual Bellingham Beer Week (a week so good that it lasts 10 days, Sept. 12– 21). The Oktoberfest, Depot Market Square, will benefit the Volunteer Center of Whatcom County and will feature beer from dozens of breweries—including many German-style beers—as well as music and food.

Paid admission includes an Oktoberfest tasting glass, beer tasting tickets and snacks.

Sept. 19: 6:30 –10 p.m.

www.bellinghambeerweek.com/oktoberfest.php

Runners await the start of the Fremont Oktoberfest 5K. Photo courtesy of Fremont Oktoberfest

Fremont Oktoberfest

Every September thousands flock to Fremont for one of Seattle’s biggest parties of the year. For three days each autumn, the neighborhood cuts loose for Fremont Oktoberfest, which attracts huge crowds that drink beer and enjoy a quirky variety of Bavarian-themed revelry.

Along with a raucous beer garden (21+) packed with thirsty hipsters drinking beer from dozens of local and not-so-local breweries, Fremont Oktoberfest offers a 5k run, zucchini decorating and racing, a kid’s play area, and even a Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving contest—a spectacle unto itself (mid-afternoon on Saturday and Sunday).

Come prepared for a crowd and expect longer lines as each day wears on.

Sept. 19: 5 p.m.– midnight
Sept. 20: 11 a.m.– midnight
Sept. 21: 11 a.m.– 6 p.m.

www.fremontoktoberfest.com

Bend Oktoberfest

This town loves beer. Currently, the greater Bend area is home to more than 25 breweries. For Oktoberfest, Bend shuts down one of its main streets for two days of beer-fueled, German-inspired fun. They’ll tap into 16 different beers, all available by the pint, brewed by some of the area’s best-loved breweries.

Enjoy German food and music, insert your earplugs when it’s time for the yodeling competition and the hammerschlagen—an event that sees competitors racing to hammer nails into a table.

Other festivities include the Wiener Dog Races where dachshunds dash for glory at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Friday night is a 21+ affair. The event includes an official beer garden, but you should consider this an opportunity to visit some of Bend’s many breweries.

Sept. 19: 5 –10 p.m.
Sept. 20: Noon –10 p.m.

www.bendoktoberfest.com

Inland NW Craft Beer Festival

The event formerly known as Spokane Oktoberfest is moving across town but remains focused on the breweries of Eastern Washington and the Inland Northwest. The new venue is Avista Stadium, home of the Spokane Indian’s minor league baseball team, so expect the Inland NW Craft Beer Festival to include some baseball-themed fun to accompany food vendors, live music and over 100 beers poured by 30+ breweries.

Beer and food booths are lined up along the outfield fence, the stage is at second base and the crowd spills into the outfield. Operated by the Washington Beer Commission, the only state-appointed commodities commission of its kind in the country, all proceeds from this event benefit the organization’s efforts to promote Washington beer locally, nationally and globally.

Sept. 26: 4 – 8 p.m.
Sept. 27: Noon – 8 p.m.

www.washingtonbeer.com

Anacortes Oktoberfest – Bier on the Pier

Most people only think of Anacortes, Wash., as the gateway to the San Juan Islands, where you board a ferry headed for island adventure—but the community also hosts one of Washington’s best Oktoberfest celebrations. Unlike many others, this Oktoberfest focuses entirely on local and regional beers, so don’t expect liter mugs of Paulaner or Spaten.

Wear your best or most-creative Bavarian-themed outfit and enter the costume contest for a chance to win prizes. “Bier on the Pier” takes place on the waterfront near historic downtown Anacortes and offers live music to accompany the beer.

Beyond the festival, know that there is plenty of hiking, biking and paddling nearby, or you can hop a ferry and explore the San Juan archipelago.

Oct. 3: 5 – 9 p.m.
Oct. 4: Noon – 6 p.m.

www.anacortes.org/bier-on-the-pier

Leavenworth Oktoberfest

This summer’s wildfires blanked Leavenworth, Wash., with ash, but that is not about to stop the town from cranking up the oom-pah music and doing the chicken dance for Oktoberfest.

 

Leavenworth offers plenty of handsome men in lederhosen and beautiful women in dirndls, rocking back and forth with mugs of beer hoisted high to the sound of tubas and clarinets.

This Bavarian-themed village needs three weekends to get the Oktoberfest bug out of its system, with the event taking over the entire town. To get into the actual festival hall you will need tickets, which can be purchased in advance on the website or at the door. Kids can join their parents until 9 p.m. each night.

Oct. 3– 4, 10 –11, 17–18

www.leavenworthoktoberfest.com

Great Pumpkin Beer Festival

Oktoberfest celebrations are really just parties to commemorate the annual harvest season, even if you are talking about harvesting pumpkins.

Although the Great Pumpkin Beer Festival is silly and whimsical, which are good things for a beer festival to be, it has become one of Seattle’s favorite beer events and continues to grow each year. The event offers up more than 80 pumpkin beers from local and not-so-local breweries served over the course of two days.

A highlight of each day’s activities is the tapping of the great pumpkin, which is a giant pumpkin filled with beer. Instead of cask-conditioned beer, it is pumpkin-conditioned beer.

Pumpkin-themed costumes are encouraged at this fanciful and quirky beer fest.

Oct. 3: 4 –10 p.m.
Oct. 4: 2– 8 p.m.

www.elysianbrewing.com

Viking Terry Lush at the San Juan Oktoberfest. Photo courtesy of San Juan Oktoberfest

San Juan Island Oktoberfest

This is family-friendly Oktoberfest has activities for festival-goers of all ages. The annual event is known for a laidback island feel and plenty of silliness to boot.

Soak up live music played by San Juan’s original Blaskapelle oom-pah orchestra. Relish traditional Bavarian food and drink with a local flair. Learn to polka from professionals, and dress to impress for the costume contest. Your costume earns you discounted admission at the door.

San Juan County Fairgrounds, Indoor Pavilion, Friday Harbor, Wash.

Oct. 11: 5 –10 p.m.

www.visitsanjuans.com

South Sound IPA Festival

Another event produced by the Washington Beer Commission, this first-ever festival promises to deliver over 70 beers from 24 different Washington breweries. As the name implies, expect the South Sound IPA Festival at Union Station in Tacoma to focus on India Pale Ale and other hoppy creations; you may even find some fresh-hop ales in the mix since it is the harvest season.

Oct. 18, first session: Noon – 4 p.m.
Oct. 18, second session: 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.

www.washingtonbeer.com

Kendall Jones is a proud native and lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest. After spending too many years writing about computer software, he decided to pursue his true passion: freelance writing about beer and travel. He also produces beer events in the Seattle area and is recognized as curator of the Washington Beer Blog, a popular online source for beer news and information.

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