Oktoberfest: What To Know About U.S. Celebration Of German Culture

ACROSS AMERICA — Many U.S. cities time their Oktoberfest celebrations to coincide with folk festivals in Germany that start Saturday, Sept. 16, and continue through Oct. 3. In the United States, though, the celebrations continue through much of October.

And if you think Oktoberfest is just an excuse to drink beer, you couldn’t be more wrong.

There is beer at most Oktoberfest celebrations, of course. But authentic celebrations include traditional Bavarian music, people wandering around in dirndls and lederhosen, and traditional eats.

The traditional German folk festival in Munich draws about 6 million visitors, who drink about 2 million gallons of beer during its 16 to 18-day run over three weekends. Last year, though, consumption was down, with not quite 1.5 million gallons poured in the first Oktoberfest celebration since the pandemic began. Weather was also atypically cool and rainy.

Oktoberfest is a relatively new tradition in North America. It is popular, especially with the approximately 16 percent of Americans whose ancestors were German immigrants, but its appeal is universal.

In many cases, U.S. Oktoberfest celebrations stretch into October. Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest in California gets underway Sunday and continues through Nov. 5, according to a listing on the website Germanfods.org. In Maryland, Pierz Oktoberfest in Hagerstown was held in August.

There are at least 150 major Oktoberfest celebrations in North America. Below are five things to know about Oktoberfest:

How Did Oktoberfest Start?

The first Oktoberfest in 1810 wasn’t a celebration of beer at all, but rather to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildurghausen.

The citizens of Munich were invited to join the five-day party held on the fields in front of the city gates, now known as Theresienwiese (Therese’s meadow). It lasted five days, from Oct. 12-17, with each day featuring the food, beer, parades and music that have endured for more than two centuries. The celebration ended with a horse race around the edge of Munich.

Why Isn’t Oktoberfest Just In October?

“Oktoberfest” is somewhat of a misnomer — although when the first celebration of German beer and culture in 1810 was held entirely in the month of October.

As the festival grew in popularity, more days were added. The start of Oktoberfest was moved to September because days are longer and warmer. It meant celebrants could stay out later without getting chilly.

In Some Places, It’s ‘Octoberfest’

To be true to tradition, Oktoberfest is spelled with a “k” because the 10th month of the year is written as Oktober in German.

Some U.S. celebrations use the English spelling of October, thus calling it Octoberfest. More stick to the traditional spelling in deference to the German culture.

When Did Oktoberfest Start In America?

The first U.S. Oktoberfest was held in La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 1961. Civic leaders there agreed La Crosse needed a community celebration, and talked about an annual winter carnival, but shelved the idea, primarily due to the unpredictability of the weather, but also because such events weren’t unique in cold northern states.

At the same time, officials at the La Crosse-based G. Heileman Brewing Co. were discussing an annual promotion, according to the history of the event on the Oktoberfest USA page. When a couple of employees of German origin who worked in the malt house got wind of it, they suggested an autumn festival similar to the one in Munich.

An ambitious plan emerged, and it became apparent to Heileman officials that they’d need help pulling it off alone. In early 1961, the La Crosse Chamber of Commerce agreed to sponsor the Oktoberfest celebration, which has become an annual tradition.

La Crosse’s 2023 Oktoberfest USA celebration runs Sept. 28-30.

First, But Not The Largest

Although La Crosse was the first to hold a U.S. version of the Munich festival, honors for the largest such festival in this country goes to Oktoberfest Zinzinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. It starts Thursday and concludes Sunday.

Showcasing the rich German heritage of southwest Ohio, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati was first held in 1976. It draws about 700,000 people to downtown Cincinnati, where sections of two streets were transformed into a Bavarian village offering German-style food, beer and entertainment.

Every year, celebrants at the Cincinnati festival eat about:

• 87,542 metts (sandwiches made using minced raw pork seasoned with salt and black pepper)
• 64,000 sauerkraut balls
• 24,640 potato pancakes
• 20,000 cream puffs
• 6,000 jumbo pickles
• 1,875 lbs. German potato salad
• 700 pigtails 80,500 bratwurst
• 56,250 sausages
• 23,004 soft pretzels
• 16,002 strudel
• 3,600 lbs. sauerkraut
• 702 lbs. Limburger cheese
• 400 pickled pigs feet