Oktoberfest in Charlotte fills the calendar quickly. Beer festivals and Bavarian nights arrive with live music, giant steins and dancing, and the lederhosen have never been mandatory. Come with a group and the food settles it fast, bratwurst and pretzels on nearly every menu and long tables through the neighborhoods where the table gets bigger as the night goes. If a good beer with friends is the whole plan, hold to it. See what's on for Oktoberfest 2026 in Charlotte and book your tickets before they're gone.
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On nowBest for a dateMon, Sep 28Frenchy's Sip and Shop
Join us Sep 28 for our twenty-fifth cheese pairing event, as we enjoy the wines of Central & Eastern Europe. And we’re back! For Pairing #25, we're honoring this special time of the year - namely, Oktob
$42.22Tasting
Best on a budgetTue, Sep 29Brewers At 4001 Yancey
Join us for an exclusive evening of curated craft beer and culinary excellence at our Brewers Beer Dinner! This intimate, ticketed event is limited to just 28 <stron
$25
Something differentSat, Oct 173530 Dewitt Ln
We're very excited to be partnering with Gilde Brewery in Charlotte, NC as the host venue for our 2026 Steinholding Championship of The Carolinas! This event is the culmination of the combined North Carolina and South Carolina Steinholding State Tourname
Stein hoisting
Most popularOct 21–25Charlotte5 days
🍁🏎️ HELL-EN BACK III — THE MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN TOUR 🏎️🍁 October 21st–25th | Charlotte, NC ➜ Helen, GA TDR is heading back into the mountains for 5 unforgettable days of fall driving, legendary roads,
Get the look
Outfits, steins and party kit for the season. Check delivery dates before you order.
Links go to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, AllEvents earns from qualifying purchases.
Dirndl dressBodice, blouse, skirt and apronShop on Amazon 
Men's lederhosenLeather shorts, braces and allShop on Amazon 
Alpine hatGreen felt, with the featherShop on Amazon 
Trachten suspendersThe look for less, over any checked shirtShop on Amazon 
Lidded beer steinCeramic, with a pewter lidShop on Amazon 
Das Boot glassThe boot-shaped party glassShop on Amazon 
Hammerschlagen gameA stump, nails, a hammer: first nail flush winsShop on Amazon 
Bavarian flagBlue-and-white diamonds for the yardShop on Amazon 
Pretzel saltCoarse salt for homemade BreznShop on Amazon 
Baby lederhosenFor the smallest guestShop on Amazon 
Hot-dog dog costumeFor the dachshund racesShop on Amazon Nearby
Worth the trip from Charlotte, soonest first.
Sat, Oct 3110 S York St, Gastonia
Sat, Oct 3209 E Franklin St, Monroe
Sat, Oct 3Fountain Park, Rock Hill, South Carolina
Worth the tripOct 9–11Union Sq, Hickory, NC 28601, United States3 days
Live musicFamily-friendly
Sat, Oct 1012221 Sam Furr Road, Huntersville
Before you go
Tickets, timing, what to wear, and whether the kids can come.
Every listing with a price, cheapest first.
2 listings do not show a price.
Every organiser sets its own prices, and entry, food and drink are often sold separately. Check what a ticket covers before you buy.
In Charlotte: Paid tickets from $25 to $42.22.
Weekend afternoons fill up first. Go early if you want a table.
Dirndl or Lederhosen are welcome, never required. In Bavaria they are everyday clothes, not a costume.
Traditionally said, from the wearer's side. A custom, not a rule.
Festivals in parks and streets are usually all ages; events in bars are often 21+. The listing says which.
Eat and drink
Same word, two beers: Munich pours a pale lager, North America an amber one.
What Munich pours
What North America calls Oktoberfest
Only these six Munich breweries may pour at the Wiesn. Their festival beers are the real thing.
1 litre
A Maß is more than two US pints of 6% lager. Eat something with it. In Munich in 2026 one costs about €15.61.
Most eatenHendl
Spit-roasted half chicken
Schweinshaxe
Crackling roast pork knuckle
Brezn
The giant salted pretzel
Bratwurst
Grilled sausage in a roll
Weisswurst
Veal sausage, eaten before noon
Obatzda
Beer-garden cheese spread
Steckerlfisch
Whole fish grilled on a stick
VegetarianKäsespätzle
Cheesy egg noodles
Kartoffelpuffer
Crisp potato pancakes
Radi
Spiral-cut salted radish
Kaiserschmarrn
Torn pancake with plum compote
Gebrannte Mandeln
Warm candied almonds
Dampfnudel
Steamed dumpling in vanilla sauce
Apfelstrudel
Apple strudel
Lebkuchenherz
Gingerbread heart, worn not eaten
At the party
So you know what to do when the band stops playing and the whole room stands up.
Every 15 minutes or so
Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit
der Gemütlichkeit.
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit
der Gemütlichkeit.
Oans, zwoa, drei — g'suffa!
“A toast to good company.” Stand up, raise your glass, sing it twice, count to three, clink and drink.
Most bands play these, loudly, more than once.
Masskrugstemmen
Hold a full litre at arm's length, elbow locked. Last arm up wins.
On in Charlotte, Sat, Oct 17
Kegs for balls, pins at the end of the lane, against the clock.
Carry full steins to the line. Fastest run with least beer spilled wins.
Ten brats, no buns, one clock.
America's own: sausage dogs sprinting for their owners.
Best dirndl, best lederhosen, judged by applause.
Since 1810
Before it was about beer, Oktoberfest was about a royal couple. Munich threw open a meadow to celebrate the 1810 wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese, ending with a horse race watched by tens of thousands. The meadow took her name, the party became annual, and it later moved into September, when Bavaria's weather is at its most dependable.
Munich's 2026 Wiesn is on now: day 10 of 16, until October 4.
Asked and answered
Oktoberfest events in Charlotte run from Sep 28 to Oct 21, 2026: 4 events. The busiest weekend is Oct 2 – Oct 4, with 2 events.
Nothing is listed in Charlotte itself for Oct 2 – Oct 4, but 4 events are on nearby, in Advance, Gastonia and Monroe.
Tickets run from $25 to $42.22, set by each organiser, so check what yours includes before you book. None of the 4 events listed right now is free to get into.
Yes: 8 more events are listed within reach of Charlotte, in Advance, Gastonia, Monroe and Rock Hill and more. The soonest is Oktoberfest in Advance, on Sat, Oct 3.
At 4 venues, including Frenchy's Sip and Shop, Brewers At 4001 Yancey and Charlotte.
The most popular on AllEvents right now are Brewers Beer Dinner at Brewers At 4001 Yancey (Tue, Sep 29), 2026 USSA Steinholding Championship of The Carolinas Tournament Finals (Sat, Oct 17) and HELL-EN Back Majestic Mountain Tour | 2026 at Charlotte (Oct 21–25).
Munich's Oktoberfest runs from September 19 to October 4, 2026, 16 days on the Theresienwiese. It is on now: today is day 10.
A Bavarian folk festival that began in Munich as a royal wedding party: Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese on 12 October 1810, and the celebrations ended with a horse race on 17 October. Munich later moved the start forward into September, when the weather is warmer, and the festival usually ends on the first Sunday in October.
Traditional dress, a Dirndl or Lederhosen, is welcome but never required, and ordinary clothes are completely normal. In Bavaria, Tracht is everyday clothing for family occasions rather than a costume.
In Munich it is Festbier: a pale, smooth lager of around 6% brewed for the festival by six Munich breweries. In North America, "Oktoberfest" almost always means Märzen, which is darker, amber and maltier. Same word, two different beers.
Worth the trip
Where the season is the whole city's business, from Munich's meadow to a Bavarian village in the Cascades.
MunichThe original, since 1810
CincinnatiOktoberfest Zinzinnati
KitchenerCanada's biggest
La Crosse, WIOktoberfest USA
Frankenmuth, MIMichigan's Little Bavaria
Leavenworth, WAA Bavarian mountain village
Fredericksburg, TXHill Country's German town
New Ulm, MNSettled by Germans in 1854
DenverDenver Oktoberfest, since 1969
MilwaukeeBrew City's German roots
ChicagoStreet fests all season
New YorkStone Street and the beer hallsKeep exploring
