The Oktoberfest is a two-week festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September and early October. It is attended by six million people each year and has inspired numerous similar events using the name Oktoberfest in Germany and around the world, many of which were founded by German immigrants or their descendants.
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The largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany is in Canada, in the twin cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada (750,000- 1,000,000 visitors),[1] Blumenau, Brazil with (700,000+), Cincinnati, Ohio, United States (500,000+ visitors)[2] and the Denver Oktoberfest Denver, Colorado, United States (450,000+ visitors).[3] Currently Oktoberfest is spreading to new geographical locations; starting in September 2007, Montreal began hosting its own Oktoberfest.
The National Beer Festival (Fiesta Nacional de la Cerveza) is Argentina's version of the German Oktoberfest. It has taken place every October since 1963 in Villa General Belgrano, Córdoba. The party emerged by the hand of the first German immigrants. This festival attracts thousands of tourists for two consecutive weekends.
In Australia, the universities are notorious in their celebrations of Oktoberfest every year, and as students graduate and move on, this has rolled over into pubs and restaurants in the university areas.
The Harmonie German Club, Canberra, holds an Oktoberfest over a three day period every year in October. The festival is currently in its 45th year, and attracts a large number of visitors from Canberra and surrounding regions.[4]
In Brazil, several southern cities, populated by German people in the 19th and 20th centuries, have their own Oktoberfest, with the biggest Oktoberfest outside Germany in Blumenau, celebrated annually since 1984. There are 18 days of music, dance and food, commemorating Brazilian ancestors that came from Germany. In 10 days in 1984, 102,000 people (more than 30% of Blumenau's population) attended and in 1992 more than 700,000. The festival has since grown, with festivals also being held in Santa Cruz do Sul and Igrejinha, Rio Grande do Sul and Rolândia, Paraná.
In Canada there is an annual nine day celebration spread over 18 Festhallen in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. It attracts over 1,000,000 visitors annually.[5] While its best-known draws are the beer-based celebrations, other cultural and entertainment attractions also fill the week. The most well-known is the parade held on Thanksgiving Day; as the only major parade on Canadian Thanksgiving, it is televised nationally. (Coincidentally, the closing day of the Bavarian Oktoberfest also lands on the German equivalent of Thanksgiving, Erntedankfest.)
The twin cities and surrounding area have a long history of German roots; Kitchener was formerly named Berlin. A large portion of the population identify themselves as being of German heritage, and many still speak German as well. A common phrase at the celebrations is Gemütlichkeit, German for congeniality, or warm friendliness. This word is even programmed into the bus route displays, so during Oktoberfest it will show the route and Gemütlichkeit, or Willkommen.
Another celebration of Oktoberfest is held in Sherbrooke, Quebec annually, at the beginning of October. The one night event is held by Sherbrooke's University engineering students' association. It gathers around 5,000 people.
In Chile bierfests are celebrated in Valdivia, Puerto Octay, Puerto Varas, Frutillar and Llanquihue and Malloco.
In Colombia it is sponsored by Bavaria Brewery. A series of concerts and events are held along different cities, with special emphasis in those with German background like Bucaramanga.
The Oktoberfest Hannover is a fair which takes place every year at the end of September/beginning of October in Hanover, Germany. It usually lasts 16 days and features 160 rides and inns, two large beer tents seating more than a thousand people each, and numerous stands offering refreshments. With more than one million visitors each year, it is the second-largest Oktoberfest in the world.
The Oktoberfest was started in Hong Kong in 1991. It is celebrated in late October and early November (dry season in Hong Kong) and is hosted by the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, just next to the Star Ferry pier.
For the festival, the Marco Polo Hotel sets up a traditional tent with long wooden tables and benches with capacity for approximately 1,500 persons to create an Oktoberfest atmosphere. The German Band Die Notenhobler from Ulm, Germany entertains the approximately 85% Chinese audience. Their program starts at 19:30 every night and comprises three parts: traditional German music, games and competitions, party music.
The hotels caters traditional Southern German foods, such as pork knuckle, sausages with sauerkraut and apple strudel or milk-cream strudel (Millirahmstrudel) together with beer (past beer sponsors were 1991-1999 Löwenbräu; 2000-2002 Veltins; 2003 Jever; 2004-2005 Löwenbräu).
In 2005, the festival was held from October 14 to November 3 with some additional dates for private functions, which is popular for staff parties of large corporations.
In Bangalore, India, Kingfisher beer established The Great Indian October Fest in 2005.
In Cork, the Francisan Well Brewery has an Oktoberfest festival whose dates parallel those of the festival in Munich. Downes Pub in Waterford have been celebrating the Oktoberfest annually since 2002 and their celebration culminates in an evening in October that features German beer-drinking music from the City of Waterford Brass as well as a wide selection of imported German beer. Oktoberfest is celebrated in University College Dublin each year with a Bavarian-themed festival taking place in the Pit next to the Forum bar on campus.
In Mexico, there are several cities celebrating this event, which has grown in popularity over the 19th and 20th centuries. The best known Oktoberfest takes place in the southern part of Mexico City, at the Club Alemán in the borough of Xochimilco. The German and German-Mexican community is a regular, however the event is also attended by residents of many backgrounds. The celebration is in most traditional German fashion, with the Mexican fiesta kick. Typical German food and keg beer are available. A hand craft market and amusement rides are also set up.
An Oktoberfest celebration is held in the West Bank town of Taybeh, home to the only Palestinian brewery (Taybeh Brewery). The first Taybeh Oktoberfest was held in 2005.[6]
In Romania, the Oktoberfest has been organized in Brasov (Kronstadt in German), Transylvania since 2009 in September (which is quite irregular) by the Deutsche Wirtschaftsklub Kronstadt, in association with local authorities. Traditional Romanian and German beers, foods and music can be found in each edition.
German-Americans are the country's largest self-reported ancestral group. Correspondingly, there are hundreds of large and small Oktoberfest celebrations held annually throughout the country, the largest being in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Known for its large German immigrant population, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its historic Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsylvania Deutsch) population are well known to have many Oktoberfest celebrations during the months of September and October. These celebrations became increasingly popular among the general Commonwealth population in the later half of the 20th century with the rise of microbreweries, and with the opening of authentic German brew houses such as Hofbrauhaus in Pittsburgh, PA.
There are other major celebrations across the United States at Columbus Ohio Farigrounds in Columbus Ohio, Sertoma Field in Walhalla, South Carolina, the Delaware Saengerbund in Newark, Delaware; The Phoenix Club in Anaheim, California; Tempe Town Lake in Tempe, Arizona; Margaret T. Hance Park in Phoenix, Arizona;[7] Big Bear City, California; Campbell, California; San Francisco, California; Alpine Village in Torrance, California; Denver, Colorado; Melbourne, Florida, Miami, Florida, Mandeville, Louisiana, Helen, Georgia; San Diego, California; Cullman, Alabama; Frankenmuth, Michigan (The first Oktoberfest outside of Munich to be sanctioned by the Parliament and the City of Munich);[8] Hermann, Missouri; Germania Park in Rockaway Township, New Jersey; Irondequoit, New York; Hickory, North Carolina; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Amana, Iowa; Mt. Angel, Oregon; East Allegheny, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Newport, Rhode Island; Addison, Texas; Boerne, Texas; Fredericksburg, Texas; Galveston, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Jasper, Indiana; Seymour, Indiana; Kingsport, Tennessee;[9] Muenster, Texas (their version is called "Germanfest" and is held in April); New Braunfels, Texas (called Wurstfest), Slaton, Texas (called "Slaton St. Joseph's Sausage Festival" and is held on the third Sunday of October); and Shiner, Texas as well as at least 11 Texas towns beyond those mentioned.[10] Also the Fremont neighborhood in Seattle, WA, also Leavenworth, Washington; Appleton, Wisconsin; La Crosse, Wisconsin - Oktoberfest - La Crosse, Wisconsin, New Glarus, Wisconsin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, among many others. Berea, Ohio, Minster, Ohio, and Wilmington, Ohio also have Oktoberfests celebrations. There is an annual Oktoberfest that takes place at Snowbird, Utah, a resort in the mountains above Salt Lake City. Also there is an Oktoberfest in Montrose, California.
An Oktoberfest celebration has been held in Ho Chi Minh City since 1993. The event is organized by the German Business Association of Vietnam and the Windsor Plaza Hotel, with sponsorship from the local business community, including many German companies. The 2010 event ran from October 8–10 and October 13–16, attracting more than 14,000 guests who consumed more than 7 tons of sausages, sauerkraut, and meat carvings and more than 20,000 liters of German beer.