It’s almost the most brew-tiful time of the year: Oktoberfest.
This folk festival originated in Munich, Germany in 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Louis to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The tradition has continued to grow into the world’s largest Volkfest — read: people festival — filled with beer, traditional Bavarian music, performances, parades, and German outfits.
But don’t worry, you won’t need to hop on a plane to join the festivities. We gathered five celebrations to plan for a pitcher-perfect Oktoberfest.
Steel Hands Oktoberfest | Friday, Oct. 3 | Join the free Oktoberfest event at Steel Hands for German music, food, and the special Festbier brew.
Columbia Craft Oktoberfest | Saturday, Oct. 4 | Celebrate with the live music from The Regulars and food from La Dolce Vita.
Newberry Oktoberfest | Friday, Oct. 3 | This free event is Newberry’s largest annual event and features live music all day, a best traditional dress contest, and wandering accordionist Bob Wilusz in full German clothing.
Savage Craft Oktoberfest | Saturday, Oct. 4-Sunday, Oct. 5 | This year features a Hops to Harvest theme with live music from country artist Cody Webb.
Bierkeller Columbia | Friday, Sept. 26-Sunday, Sept. 28 + Friday, Oct. 3-Sunday, Oct. 5 | Bierkeller has that Oktoberfest feel year-round, but the German canal side brewery will host two official weekends to celebrate this year.
Oktoberfest at WeCo Bottle and Biergarten | Friday, Oct. 10 | The West Columbia biergarten will have food trucks for the weekend and have a rotation of German brews on tap.
Oktoberfest Columbia | Friday, Oct. 10-Sunday, Oct. 12 | Columbia’s original Oktoberfest at Incarnation Lutheran Church offers authentic German beer, food, live oompah bands, pastries, and family-friendly entertainment.
