Oktoberfest in Ohio 2024

Oktoberfest starts at the end of August in Ohio. By September and October 2024, Ohio residents will be enjoying German beer, bratwurst and the chicken dance at German festivals throughout the Buckeye State, including large celebrations in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. With numerous cities boasting more than 70% German heritage, even small towns will have the sound of music and the smell of German cuisine. Let’s take a look at the wonderful places available to enjoy an Ohio Oktoberfest.

Last Major Update:

2024 was a great year for Oktoberfest! We'll be back with more next year.

Looks like plenty of great Oktoberfest parties running all the way up to November to enjoy, so Prost!

All events showing current dates need to be verified to confirm that changes to the schedule were not made by the organizers after publication here. We do not run these events, and would hate for anyone to go out of their way only to find the event had been canceled after releasing a date. Please click through to the event website to confirm! Be safe and have a great fall!

2024 Events

Germania Society Oktoberfest - Cincinnati, OH - Aug 23 to Aug 25, 2024
This Oktoberfest features traditional German food, live German music all weekend, dancing, and fun for the whole family. Adults and kids alike will enjoy the traditional beer mug-sliding contest, as well as steinholding (Masskrugstemmen) competitions. Kids can frolic on our playground and amuse themselves with FREE interactive inflatable attractions. They also offer for sale a wide variety of imported German merchandise and gifts, including Steins, Trachten, and more. $5 per person at the gate. FREE admission for children 12 and younger, and for Veterans with current ID. Free offsite parking and shuttle from: Pleasant Run Middle School, Vinoklet Winery and Elda Elementary School. All day, non-refundable on-site parking spot pass can be purchased online for $5. Hours for 2022: Friday: 6pm-11pm. Saturday: 2pm-11pm. Sunday: 12pm-7pm. Location: Germania Park, 3529 West Kemper Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45251

Liberty Home Association Oktoberfest - Hamilton, OH - Aug 30 to Sep 1, 2024
Homemade German food available including bratwurst, sauerkraut, potato salad, pretzels, German desserts and more. Beer includes options from Paulaner and Anheuser-Busch. Live bands, rides and games for the whole family.

Cleveland Oktoberfest - Middleburg Heights, OH - Aug 30 to Sep 7, 2024
This Cleveland Oktoberfest happens annually over Labor Day weekend for 10+ years. Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr beer will be served in addition to several other beers in the International Beer Garden Free parking with the option for paid VIP parking. Celebrity keg tapping. Oktoberfest Microbrew Competition and wiener dog races. Glockenspiel routines on the hour. The finals of the Miss Oktoberfest contest and the masskrugstemmen (one arm stein holding) contest. 5K Beer Run. Vendors in the Bavarian Shopping Village will offer for sale beer steins, German merchandise and other items. Children’s activity area includes inflatables, hay rides, arts & crafts, sand castle building, gingerbread house classes and The Frisch Marionette Company (a puppet show that has been featured in People Magazine and on Showtime). Admission to the festival is $10 per person with children under 12 receiving free admission. Location: Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds

Columbus Oktoberfest - Columbus, OH - Sep 6 to Sep 8, 2024
Hosted under the historic pavilions of the Ohio Expo Center. Friday night Brat Trot and keg tapping. Contests include stein hoisting and Bavarian yodeling. Food, beer, live music and dancers. Kids Kinderplatz features family friendly activities for your children. Location: 717 E 17th Ave Columbus, OH 43211

Vandalia Sister Cities Oktoberfest - Dayton, OH - Sep 6 to Sep 7, 2024
An Oktoberfest with arts & crafts, food and live music, and more fun at Vandalia Sports Complex, 1101 Stonequarry Road, Vandalia, OH

Springboro Oktoberfest - Springboro, OH - Sep 6 to Sep 7, 2024
Lots of live music, German food, and Paulaner beer. Admission is $3 with children 12 and under free. A portion of all proceeds go to the nonprofits – past recipients have included the Wounded Warrior Project, Springboro Community Assistance Center, and the Shriners Hospitals for Children – Cincinnati. Location: 5 West Mill St., Springboro, OH.

German Family Society Oktoberfest - Akron, OH - Sep 6 to Sep 8, 2024
50th annual. Live entertainment during the three day festival. Location: 3871 Ranfield Rd, Kent, OH

Oktoberfest Zinzinnati - Cincinnati, OH - Sep 19 to Sep 22, 2024
This Cincinnati Oktoberfest is the largest in the United States with over 500,000 visitors a year. Six blocks in downtown Cincinnati are closed for the weekend. Started in 1976, you can enjoy the festivities including the Running of the Wieners and the World’s Largest Chicken Dance. The Opening Ceremony will be on Saturday at 11:30 AM at Fountain Square.

Cuyahoga Falls Oktoberfest - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Sep 20 to Sep 22, 2024
There will be several local breweries serving each of their Oktoberfest brews as well as one or two of their other specialty craft styles! There will be quite a variety of local craft and artisan booths where you can purchase German and Oktoberfest themed t-shirts,  candles, comic-book collage art, handmade jewelry and more! There will also be German food, German games, German, Polka, ‘uhmp-pa-pa’ bands, a strolling accordion player and German dancers.  Other entertainment includes Face Painting by Claire, other local country/rock/cover bands a popcorn eating contest and FIREWORKS!! Free admission, free parking and free entertainment. Since 1979.

Main Street Kent Oktoberfest - Kent, OH - Sep 21, 2024
Annual event in downtown Kent with food, beer, games, live entertainment and fun from noon to 10 PM.

Dayton Oktoberfest - Dayton, OH - Sep 27 to Sep 29, 2024
The Dayton Art Institute has hosted this German festival in Dayton for over 40 years. Craft beer, home brew contest, live music on two stages and family friendly kids activities. Preview party takes place on Friday from 7 to 11 PM for those who are 21+ with complimentary beer, wine and live entertainment. Ticket purchase to Preview Party is recommended as space is limited. Location: Dayton Art Institute, 456 Belmonte Park N Dayton, OH 45405

Wolf Creek/Pine River Grist Mill Oktoberfest - Loudonville, OH - Sep 28, 2024
Rain or shine, the party goes on under three large heated tents, with almost 100 beers, wine, food, and more plus live music, stein hoisting competition, free parking and shuttle buses, and more!

Oktoberfest Findlay - Findlay, OH - Sep 28, 2024
This fun filled festival showcases the rich German Heritage of Northwest Ohio. Live German music, polka dancing, hearty German foods and libations, kids activities, and much more! Enjoy performances by Fred Ziwich & His International Sound Machine and others!

Mason Oktoberfest - Mason, OH - Sep 28, 2024
Mason Oktoberfest is happening at Sonder Brewing, with breweries from all around Ohio coming together for an awesome festival, with German beers, festive food, activities, and music! Entry is free, but you can pre purchase a VIP package, including a Mason Oktoberfest 16 oz beer stein and one beer ticket. Drink your beer from your Oktoberfest Stein at the event and enjoy an extra 4 ounces every time you buy a beer!

Boardman Rotary Oktoberfestival - Boardman, OH - Sep 29, 2024
The annual Oktoberfest raises money for the Rotary Club of Boardman. Food, arts & crafts and kid’s entertainment. Admission is $3. Free parking on the west side of the park through the Southern Blvd. Entrance. Shuttle service available from the Heart Center parking lot, south of the park, which has limited offsite parking. Location: Boardman Township Park ­‑ Boardman, Ohio 44512

Minster Oktoberfest - Minster, OH - Oct 4 to Oct 6, 2024
In recent years, over 80,000 have attended this Oktoberfest on the first Sunday in October. Live German music, German food, parade, Miss Oktoberfest Pageant, arts & crafts, jug hoist, beer tray relay, 10k run and other fun.

Beaver Oktoberfest - Beaver, OH - Oct 4 to Oct 6, 2024
Among the many activities at this southern Ohio Oktoberfest are live music, games, amusement rides, cloggers, car and tractor show, baby contest, pie contest and parade. 5K Run / Fun Walk on Saturday. Wood carving demonstrations with sculptures available for bid by auction on Sunday. Location: Main Street (State Route 335), Beaver, Ohio

Lebanon Oktoberfest - Lebanon, OH - Oct 11 to Oct 12, 2024
Enjoy food, craft beers, kids activities and more. Event raises money for Miller Park Fund.

Sommer Oktoberfest - Olmsted Falls, OH - Oct 16 to Oct 18, 2024
Live entertainment including brass bands, folk dancing, German food, pastries and beverages

Dayton Liederkranz-Turner – Oktoberfest - Dayton, OH - Oct 19, 2024
Dust off the dirndls and lederhosen, grab your coolest stein and your best friends and head down to the Liederkranz for Dayton’s most authentic Oktoberfest celebration. Live German Party Music.

While Ohio is home to some of the largest Oktoberfests in the country, if you exhaust the list and want to check out nearby events, you can head to Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

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Past Events

Put-in-Bay Oktoberfest - Put-in-Bay, OH - Oct 7 to Oct 8, 2023
The annual German-style Festival features; German food, hot spiced wine and cold beer. Fantastic food including; brats, potato pancakes, apple dumplings, pierogi, cabbage and noodles, chicken paprikash and wonderful desserts. All provided by Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce member restaurants. Live polk music both days!

North Coast Oktoberfest - Sandusky, OH - Sep 29 to Sep 30, 2023
Past attractions have included a 5K run, 2 stages of live German music and dancing, German food from local restaurants, brat eating contest and other games, as well as commemorative beer stein and other merchandise.

House of Wines Oktoberfest - Marietta, OH - Sep 25, 2022
Choose from over 60 different beers to sample on the river front beer garden. Enjoy concession style brew friendly foods, live music, and more. 21+ event.

Grove City Oktoberfest - Grove City, OH - Oct 3, 2020
Noon to 10 PM. Celebrate Grove City’s German heritage in the historic Grove City Town Center. Sample a variety of Ohio craft beers while you enjoy live entertainment, games, and the beauty of autumn. German-themed foods will accompany the brews, including ever-popular bratwursts and cream puffs. The event offers entertainment to view and in which to participate with fun challenges such as beer stein holding contests, Hammerschlagen (a German word that roughly translates into “to beat with a hammer” or “hammer striking”), barrel rolling, and many more games with great prizes to the winners.

We hope you enjoy these celebrations of Oktoberfest. Let us know below which one you've headed to and which one you like the best!

We have added maps with the locations of each Oktoberfest. We may not have had the exact location for each Oktoberfest so in some instances we have placed the marker in the general vicinity of the Oktoberfest. Be sure to get specific directions from another source and do not solely rely on our map at the moment. We have also noticed that the markers may not show up on some mobile browsers. We will work to sort out this bug in the future.

Please confirm dates, locations and activities available at the Oktoberfest before going. That's one reason that we provide a website address when we find one. We attempt to ensure that the information for each Oktoberfest is accurate but there are bound to be a few errors. If you let us know when you find one, we will fix it. In some cases, we may link to last year's event when information for this year is not yet available. Do not be fooled.

The festivals listed range in size. Some events may have hundreds of thousands of attendees. Others may have only a handful. We're sorry that we don't have more information about attendance numbers at the moment. We will do our best to add this information as time goes on.

Professionalism varies as well. Some Oktoberfests are professional operations with large budgets. Others are local operations run by volunteers. Do your due diligence before making plans to attend so that you know what to expect. We will happily publish information about your experience with any Oktoberfest so that our visitors will be better informed in the future.

Some Oktoberfests are more family friendly than others. If you have small children, look for an Oktoberfest that has activities for kids. Other events start out with family friendly activities and become more adult oriented as it becomes later in the evening.

Not all Oktoberfest celebrations will be authentic German festival experiences. Some may simply be an excuse to drink rather than celebrate German heritage. Some may call themselves Oktoberfest but provide local or seasonal beer rather than authentic German Oktoberfest beer. Be sure to consider the type of celebration that you are looking to attend when you pick your Oktoberfest.

Activities offered at each Oktoberfest varies. Some activities that you may find are parades, keg tapping ceremony, beer gardens, Miss Oktoberfest or costume contests, stein holding contests, bratwurst eating contest, chicken dance, wiener races, keg toss, live German bands and local entertainment, polka dancing and fairground games. Some Oktoberfest events will just have beer and brats.

Please don't drink and drive. We want everyone to get home safe. Use a designated driver or take public transportation. Uber and Lyft often offer ride credits for new users.

We've got some other resources that would help you prepare for Oktoberfest as well. Read about the history of Oktoberfest. Learn about Oktoberfest beer. Find the words to Oktoberfest music. Plan your Oktoberfest outfit. And try cooking some of these Oktoberfest recipes.

Do you run one of the Oktoberfests listed? Feel free to send us additional information and we will add it. We apologize for any errors: send us corrections or updates if you find them! We also love to list new Oktoberfests, and have advertising solutions if you'd like to reach a wider audience.

Find other fun things to do in Ohio in fall:

Ohio Festivals
Ohio Corn Mazes
Ohio Ghost Tours
Haunted Houses in Ohio
Ohio Pumpkin Patches.

7 thoughts on “Oktoberfest in Ohio 2024”

  3. bc says:

    The original Oktoberfest is a traditional harvest fair held in Bavaria, perhaps not surprisingly, during the first week of October since 1810. Why then is there not a single immitation of this festival in all of Ohio that is held during the first week in October. If we are going to replicate it why not replicate it at the same time of the year? In fact most of these are not even close being held in early Sept. or even August. This isn’t even close to harvest time. Why not hold it in July? Why not in January if we want to be really different? I don’t accept that it has to be that way because of the weather. Are people in Ohio going to melt if they have to go outside during the first week of October? I find that hard to believe. It’s often sunny and in the 70 to 85 degree range in early October in Ohio. How much more agreeeable does it need to be? I go to outdoor fesitvals in winter in colder climates when it is 0 degrees farenheit. It makes no difference. You dress appropriately no matter when it is heald. Can it possibly be any warmer and clearer in Bavaria in October Then Ohio? It’s not. They are at a higher latitude, higher altitude and further inland making weather actually more unpredictable. If we are going to replicate a Bavarian holiday fair why not replicate accurately. This seems as rediculous as having a German Christmas holiday in July. It’s a harvest festival at the end of the harvest, afterall. Why would you not have it at the end of the harvest time? I would think that at least one celebration could have the authenticity to actually have the holiday on the actual holiday. Do we have to rush everything?

    Reply
  4. Ott says:

    First: You wrote “It’s a harvest festival at the end of the harvest” Not so, Munich Oktoberfest has nothing to do with the harvest.
    Second: Again “during the first week of October since 1810” Wrong, it usually runs from late September to the FIRST WEEKEND in October.
    Third the origin of the Oktoberfest: Crown Prince Ludwig, later to become King Ludwig I, was married to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities held on the fields in front of the city gates to celebrate the happy royal event.
    Fourth: the 2015 Munich Oktoberfest is from September 19 to October 4, better book now…

    Reply
  5. Harry's Hofbrau says:

    LAKE COUNTY OKTOBERFEST/PIG ROAST AND POLKA FESTIVAL
    HARRY’S HAUFBRAU-8500 STATIONS STREET-MENTOR-440.255.0400 will be hosting the areas 1st Annual Oktoberfest September 17-20, 2015. Harry’s Haufbrau will be pouring imported HB Oktoberfest Beer from Munich, Germany. Local Polka Bands will be performing live in the Polka tent. The air will be filled with Roasting pig, bratwurst, Slovenian sausages, schnitzel and more…The gates opens at 4pm on Thursday and Friday; 12pm Saturday and 11am Sunday. http://www.harryshofbraumentor.com/
    THURSDAY 17TH-4PM-9PM
    with Joey Tomsick & the Shotski’s 5-9
    FRIDAY 18TH-4PM-11PM
    with Polka Revolution 6-10
    SATURDAY 19TH-12PM-11PM
    with Bob Kravos 3-6
    with Polka Revolution 7-10
    SUNDAY 20TH -11AM-6PM
    with Patty C & the Guys 1-5
    No admission – Free Parking – Live Entertainment – All Ages

    Reply
  7. Ginger Babloa says:

    I need some information on the October fest in the organ District
    Need to know when it is and if it will cost anything.
    Thank you

    Reply

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