46th Annual Denver Oktoberfest

Not just one weekend, but TWO weekends of beer drinking, live music, keg bowling, long dog races, stein hoisting, bratwurst eating contests and German festival fun!

This event is completely free to enter. Food and beverages can be purchased through tickets.

Festival hours: Friday 5pm-2am, Saturday 11am-2am and Sunday 11am – 5pm.

More info including the schedule of events: http://thedenveroktoberfest.com

The Origins of Oktoberfest: The origin of Oktoberfest can be traced back to October 12, 1810, the wedding day of Bavaria’s Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. Against tradition, the couple invited Munich’s common people to the festivities. The events were held over five days on the fields in front of the city gates now called Theresienwiese (Theresa’s Meadow). Forty thousand people showed up for the celebration. A year later, they decided to throw the party all over again as an anniversary tribute to the royal couple. And so the tradition began… (TheDenverOktoberfest.com)

The history of the Denver Oktoberfest: Fred and Hertha Thomas owned two shops in Larimer Square (Cafe Promenade and Boutique Int’l). In 1969, they decided to honor their favorite tradition in front of the Cafe, and quietly tapped a keg and served some pretzels and white radishes. Until 2007, the event was held on the 14th block of Larimer St. and since it has been hosted at 20th and Larimer in historic Denver, Colorado. The Denver Oktoberfest attracts over 350,000 people during the six-day festival and it was quoted in Maxim Magazine and USA Today as “The Best Oktoberfest” in the United States and “One of the country’s biggest and longest running traditions”.  It’s also one of the largest beer festivals in the United States based on consumption because Denver drinks beer really well. (TheDenverOktoberfest.com)