Eventually, the duration of the Oktoberfest was lengthened and the start date brought forward to take advantage of the warmer weather that occurs in September. Although the festival begins in September, the first Sunday in October always marks the last day.
The Munich Oktoberfest is the world’s largest folk festival, attracting about 6.3 million visitors each year. It takes place on the grassy fields around Munich in an area larger than 75 football fields. The festival is free to enter and begins on Sept. 21 and ends Oct. 6.
Highlighting the event are the many festival tents that sit among the grounds. Of the 17 large tents, the biggest one, the Hofbräu-Festzelt has seating for 1,000 guests and standing room for 10,000. The 21 smaller tents hold an average of 300 guests.
Traditional Bavarian-style food is abundant, pretzels, roast chicken, pork schnitzel, sausages, sauerkraut and spaetzle, but other tents are popular for their unique food options. The Fisch Bäda tent serves 26 different varieties of fish sandwiches, while another proprietor offers square pretzel dumplings.
Munich is famous for their Oktoberfest beer and allows only six local breweries to serve at the festival, each coming up with a new brew to mark this year’s celebration. Beer is served in glass steins, engraved with their brewery logos. Trying to sneak one as a souvenir is not a good idea since security is abound. Last year over 130,000 steins were confiscated.
There are also more than 100 rides, including a swing carousel, a Ferris wheel, a Toboggan ride, a mobile drop tower, a five loop rollercoaster, a 55 meter slide, a ghost palace with a train that offers special glasses, giving one the feeling that the ghost and monsters are up close and personal.
Shopping is also popular and one only has to walk to the main entrance gate to find a post office for shipping beer mugs or Bavarian gifts. This is also the place to purchase authentic Oktoberfest stamps.
A few interesting facts from the previous year Oktoberfest:
Guests drank 7.5 million liters of beer.
Albert Einstein, working as an electrician, helped set up a beer tent in 1896.
There were 2,952 lost and found items, of those there were, 420 cell phones, 555 wallets, a car license plate and a tuba.
The Oktoberfest has only been cancelled due to war or cholera epidemics.
Only 19 percent of visitors come from an area other than Germany.
For more information or for a neat experience, download the official app of the Oktoberfest or go to the official website at Oktoberfest.de.
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Looking for a local Oktoberfest?
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is set to celebrate Oktoberfest Sept. 26 at Turtle Pond from 4 to 8 p.m.
Festivities include German food and beverages, live music, stein hoisting contest, chicken dance contest, a costume contest, a dance troupe and lots of soft pretzels.
This event is free to anyone with base access. The first 300 guests will receive a complimentary Oktoberfest stein.
Contact Sarah Burkhart, community program and partnership specialist, at 937-257-8505 for more information.
The Dayton Art Institute has their annual festival scheduled Sept. 27-29. DAI offers free admission Sept. 27, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring a Lederhosen lunch.
Those wanting a casual, less-crowded environment can attend the preview party beginning at 7 p.m. On Sept. 28 & 29, there is live entertainment, family activities and a TV cave for keeping up with the weekend sports.
More information is available on their website at www.daytonartinstitute.org.
Cincinnati is having its annual Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, the second largest festival in the world, Sept. 20-22.
Zinzinnati is famous for the Running of the Wieners race where visitors can watch 100 dachshunds race 75 feet for the chance to be the winner. There is also the world’s largest chicken dance in which participants can join thousands of other dancers.
More information is available on www.octoberfestzinzinnati.com.
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