Oktoberfest began as a celebration of a royal Bavarian marriage in 1810, but now it's celebrated around the world as an autumn festival of bier, bratwurst, and other German-inspired delights. In and around Seattle, there are many wunderbar opportunities to bust out your lederhosen and dirndls from now until the end of October, from the laudable Fremont Oktoberfest to the family-friendly Everett Sausage Festival to the closest thing you can get to Munich in Washington State: Leavenworth Oktoberfest. Find them all below, or on our Oktoberfest calendar. Prost!
Stay in the know! Get all this and more on the free Stranger Things To Do mobile app (available for iOS and Android), or delivered to your inbox.
SEPTEMBER 20-23
Beveridge Place Pub
Imbibe special festbiers from Deutschland, plus some local lagers, in honor of Oktoberfest.
West Seattle
SEPTEMBER 20-26
Columbia City Ale House
Celebrate Oktoberfest Bavarian style with a whole week of special beer and German dishes like jagerschnitzel, spatzle, and bratwurst.
Columbia City
SEPTEMBER 20-27
Hilltop Ale House
Don't miss out on Deutsches dishes and beer for an entire week.
Queen Anne
SEPTEMBER 20-28
74th Street Ale House
Get your fill of seared cod, bratwurst, bier, and more as the alehouse turns into a German beerhall for a week.
Greenwood
SEPTEMBER 21
Great Wallingford Wurst Festival
This family-focused Oktoberfest-style festival, back for the 35th year, will play host to bouncy castles and biergartens alike, with food, games, a bake shop, and live music to boot.
Wallingford
SEPTEMBER 21-22
Biketoberfest
Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance West Sound's mountain bike and craft beer and cider festival will return for the sixth year. Here's how it works: Starting at the top of Priesthood, racers will bomb down the hill, trek up Ranger, and zip back down Ranger and Highlife. Then, they'll replenish with offerings from Western Red Brewing and nine other local breweries. Skinny Blue Band and Garage Heroes will play bluesy rock music.
Poulsbo
Prost! Tavern
The Phinney German tavern will transform into a "Munich party zone," with two days of bier, brotzeitteller (a platter of snacks), music, dancing, and prizes. Friday will feature "Bier Olympics" with traditional games like masskruggstemen and hammerschlagen, while Saturday will include a ceremonial tapping and a toast.
Phinney
SEPTEMBER 21-23
Fremont Oktoberfest
Raise a (gigantic, oversized) stein to Seattle's biggest fall beer festival, which has been running for 21 years and features over 80 craft beers. Plus, dogs can enjoy fun Dogtoberfest activities of their own.
Fremont
Marina Park
Imbibe your fill of German bier, witness the running of the wiener dogs, play "human foosball," and much more.
Kirkland
SEPTEMBER 22
Tanktoberfest
This festival revolves around the curious combination of historic military vehicles and beer tasting, with breweries like Fremont, Diamond Knot, and Gordon Biersch. Plus, participate in activities like games and a pretzel necklace-making station and nosh on pretzels, hot dogs, and kettle corn.
Everett
Kenmore Community Hall
Join the Austria Club of Washington for traditional dances, food, and bier in honor of the Bavarian fall festival.
Kenmore
The Maple
Dress up in lederhosen and dirndls for a costume contest, quaff authentic Bavarian Oktoberfest biers and other varieties, hoist steins in a competition, and gorge on sizzling grilled brats and "Bavarian finger foods."
Maple Leaf
SEPTEMBER 22-OCTOBER 6
Rhein Haus
The German beer hall will host a variety of Oktoberfest events, starring a Masskrugstemmen (stein-holding) contest, a Reuben’s Brews Pig & Pint Night, a live performance from the Bavarian Village Band, and an OktoberFEAST Charity Eating Contest.
Central District
SEPTEMBER 26
Waterways Cruises
Pretend you're on a boat en route to Germany as you sail on Lake Union and Washington with a stein of bier in hand. The lunch menu will feature sausages, soft pretzels, and more German-inspired fare.
Fremont
SEPTEMBER 27
Brimmer & Heeltap
Two local breweries, Stoup and Chuckanut, will face off in a bier duel. All you have to do is show up and drink pints and eat snacks.
Ballard
Hotel Interurban
Enjoy a five-course Bavarian meal—featuring grilled weisswurst and pastrami-spiced duck breast—paired with an equally Germanic beer from Odin Brewery.
Tukwila
SEPTEMBER 28-30
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
This family-oriented Bavarian-themed fall festival will offer heaps of German sausages (in addition to banh mi sandwiches, egg rolls, Mexican food, and more to keep you sated), carnival rides, live music, kids' activities, a raffle, and plenty of beer and wine.
Everett
Perihelion Brewery
Those who bring a pack of diapers for families in need will get two pints for the price of one. They'll offer a limited menu of food you might find at an actual German festival, including reubens, cauliflower salad, pot roast, bratwurst, and black forest cake. As for special beer offerings, look forward to sipping the Equinox Octoberfest release. The Bonnie Birch Bavarian Band will keep things festive.
Beacon Hill
SEPTEMBER 28-OCTOBER 13
Queen Anne Beerhall
How heavy of a stein can you hoist? Find out at this three-weekend bier fest, where you can dance around to live music from the Bavarian Beer Garden Band, feast on hearty delights (like rabbit stew and chicken paprikash), and drink lots of beer.
Queen Anne
SEPTEMBER 29
Safeco Field
During the Seattle Mariners vs. Texas Rangers game, fans can sip special Oktoberfest beers in their very own Oktoberfest stein.
Downtown
Waterfront Park
Bainbridge Island mayor Kol Medina will do the honors of tapping this year's ceremonial first keg. After that, guests can sip local German-inspired beer, fill a plate with German-inspired food, and oompah around to live music from the Hometown Band and Manuela Horn.
Bainbridge Island
SEPTEMBER 30
Die BierStube
Taste offerings from German brewery Hofbräu, enjoy games and rides, and dance to a live DJ.
Roosevelt
Tin Room Bar
Run a 5K or one-mile race before treating yourself to beer and eating Bavarian sausages.
Burien
OCTOBER 5
Feierabend
Twenty dollars will get you an entire liter of Ayinger bier, and you can keep the mug.
South Lake Union
OCTOBER 5-7
Washington State Fair Events Center
This family-friendly Oktoberfest celebration has the requisite German bier and brats in addition to activities like wiener dog races, a stein dash 5k, polka music, and hammerschlagen (a bar game where players compete to drive a nail into a cross section of wood faster than their opponents).
Puyallup
OCTOBER 5-20
Leavenworth Festhalle
Leavenworth is as close as you'll get to an actual Bavarian village without getting on a plane to Germany. For their three-weekend Oktoberfest celebration, they'll have beer, live music, and bratwurst. Leavenworth's mayor, Cheri Kelley Farivar, will perform the ceremonial tapping of the keg on Saturdays.
Leavenworth
OCTOBER 6
Argosy Cruises
This Oktoberfest celebration begins onboard the cruise ship, where guests can sample over 12 special beers and ciders. When the boat docks on Blake Island, passengers will head into the beer hall to indulge in some polka dancing, feast on a German buffet, play German-inspired games, and drink more bier.
Downtown
Big Chickie
Revel in German fare and bier at this second annual celebration. You can even order a limited-edition stein.
Hillman City
Mt. Rainier Railroad and Logging Museum
Take in views of Mount Rainier as you ride along the Eastern Railway of Milwaukee Road. This Oktoberfest edition will feature a lineup of German-inspired brews from Washington and beyond, as well as a Bavarian-inspired meal.
Elbe
OCTOBER 7
Chateau Ste. Michelle
Who says Oktoberfest has to be all about beer? This tasting will pair five wines with five sweet and savory Bavarian bites like sausages and soft pretzels.
Woodinville
OCTOBER 13
San Juan Island Brewing Co.
Stop by the Friday Harbor brewery for some German-inspired nourishment, costume contests (that means you can and should wear your lederhosen), all-ages games, and a lineup of 12 different kinds of ales and lagers.
Friday Harbor
OCTOBER 20
Puget Sound Brass Oktoberfest
The many-membered Puget Sound Brass band will play festive Oktoberfest anthems before joining guests at a reception with a beer garden, pub snacks, and a "brass instrument petting zoo" where guests can play all the instruments featured on stage.
Green Lake
