It's that time of year to break out your lederhosen and dirndl. St. Paul Oktoberfest kicks off Friday afternoon and runs through Saturday at the Germanic American Institute. Of course it is featuring plenty of beer, food, and music.
"So, our Oktoberfest is the first Oktoberfest that takes place in the Twin Cities, and it's grown significantly," says Andrew Leshovsky, Germanic American Institute. "We have hosted somewhere around 4,500 people here total on both days. It gets very busy. But we plan to have more than enough beer for anyone that wants to attend and enjoy the beautiful weather."
Leshovsky says that the weather is exactly why they hold their event in September.
"That is incidentally why Oktoberfest takes place in September he explains. "It used to be an event, many years ago in Germany that was hosted in October. But it was moved to the third week is whewn it kicks off normally in Munich in September. And ours happens to be the second weekend."
New this year is the Bavarian Breakfast that features weisswurst sausage, pretzels, and a half-liter of Hefeweizen.
There's also plenty of contests including a lederhosen and dirndl contest, mustache contest, stein holding, and beer chugging.
While the two-day celebration provides plenty of entertainment, it also serves as the year's biggest fundraiser for the Germanic American Institute.
"Throughout the year, we are a language and education institute," Leshovsky told WCCO. "We have two German immersion preschools, we have German language classes from beginners to advanced learners, speakers, both in-person, at the house and Zoom. So people can take them anywhere, really, if they register online."
St. Paul's Oktoberfest is just one of several across Minnesota in the next few weeks. The biggest Oktoberfest in the state is in New Ulm, which was settled by German immigrants in 1854.
There are also several Twin Cities breweries that do special celebrations.
Gasthof’s Oktoberfest at Fulton’s NE Brewery is one of the Twin Cities' longest running and most authentic. It formerly took place at the Nordeast Minneapolis restaurant but has since moved to Fulton.
And it might be just across the Mississippi in Wisconsin, but it's close enough. La Crosse has a gigantic Oktoberfest celebration each year. You can Prost until your heart's content September 28-30 and don't forget to catch the "tapping of the Golden Keg".