Oktoberfest in Chicago gives autumn a shape. Beer festivals and Bavarian nights come with the dancing and the giant steins, though you're allowed to skip all that and let live music in a smaller room carry the evening. Go for the food and you've got bratwurst, pretzels, and long neighborhood tables where you end up talking to everyone, which is usually the part you'll remember. Or just a good beer with friends, no lederhosen required. Look through Oktoberfest 2026 events and parties across Chicago, then book your tickets before they sell out.
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Best on a budgetThu, Oct 22The Harding Tavern
October’s beer of the month is brought to us from Germany by Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr, two iconic breweries dominating the Oktoberfest season. $6 pints all month with a special Keep the Pint Night on 10/22, stop by to meet the Hac
Free
Most popularTue, Oct 27Station 34, Mount Prospect
Historic Site Tour and Networking Benefit Event 🎃 2nd Annual NICAR Oktoberfest FUNdraiser Join NICAR, HRO & NSBA
$44.52 – $65.87
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 Chicago, soonest first.
Worth the trip
Fri, Oct 30325 Raymond St, Gilberts
Where to go
Chicago was a third German once. Lincoln Square is the part that stayed, and the Loop keeps the oldest German dining room in the city.
The BerghoffAdams Street, the LoopSauerbraten and a Berghoff beerSchweinshaxe crackling roast pork knuckleDowntown's historic German restaurant, family-run since 1898 and holder of Chicago's first post-Prohibition liquor licence.RestaurantSince 1898Their site 
Gene's Sausage ShopLincoln SquareSausage downstairs, a beer on the roofBratwurst grilled sausage in a rollA European deli and butcher with a rooftop beer garden above it — the best of Lincoln Square in one building.Butcher & rooftopTheir site 
DANK HausLincoln SquareA beer at a StammtischObatzda beer-garden cheese spreadThe German-American cultural centre: language classes, a fifth-floor Skyline Lounge, and events that are the real thing.Cultural centreTheir site Every link goes to the venue's own site. Hours change — check before you travel.
Asked and answered
Oktoberfest events in Chicago run from Oct 22 to Oct 27, 2026: 2 events.
Nothing is listed in Chicago itself for Oct 23 – Oct 25, but 1 event is on nearby, in Vernon Hills.
Yes: 1 of the 2 listed is free to get into, including 10/22 Paulaner Keep the Pint Night. Paid tickets for the rest run from $44.52 to $65.87. Food and drink are usually paid for on the day.
Yes: 2 more events are listed within reach of Chicago, in Vernon Hills and Gilberts. The soonest is Harvest Fest in Vernon Hills, on Sat, Oct 24.
At 2 venues, including The Harding Tavern and Station 34.
Munich's 2026 Oktoberfest ran from September 19 to October 4, 2026, 16 days on the Theresienwiese.
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
New YorkStone Street and the beer hallsKeep exploring
