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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Fri, Oct 162003 Indianapolis Blvd., Whiting
Whiting Post 80 invites you to enjoy our annual Oktoberfest Dinner Menu includes Jagerschnitzel, Red Cabbage, Kraut, German Potato Salad and Dessert $15 per plate
Best for groupsSat, Oct 17203 N Edgewood Ave, Wood Dale
American Legion Ladies Auxiliary Oktoberfest ! BLOODLINE FAMILY BAND - LIVE AT POST 1205 ! Put on your lederhosen, grab your red, white, and blue, The American Legion Auxiliary has a celebration for you! With German-style food and patriotic cheer, W
Live music
Best for a dateSat, Oct 17Muggs-N-Manor, Addison
Join us for our first Oktoberfest Party at Muggs! Broasted Chicken, Beer, Lederhosen, and a few polkas to top things off. You don't want to miss this one! Call and make reservations to reserve your table 630-833-2570
Live music
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.
Sat, Oct 17The Lowell Parks Department
Sat, Oct 174203 Montdale Park Drive, Valparaiso
Sat, Oct 17Mailing 4623 75th Street STE 4-221, Kenosha, WI
Worth the tripWhere 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.
Before you go
Tickets, timing, what to wear, and whether the kids can come.
Every listing with a price, cheapest first.
3 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 Chicago: 1 of 5 free to get in; paid tickets from $44.52 to $65.87.
Weekend afternoons fill up first. Go early if you want a table.
In Chicago: Saturday is the big day, with 2 of 5 dates.
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.
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.
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
It began with a royal wedding and a horse race. When Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese in 1810, Munich invited the public to celebrate on a field outside the city, and the race on 17 October drew around 40,000 people. The field became the Theresienwiese, the party became annual, and the start date slid into September for the better weather.
Munich's 2026 Wiesn ran from September 19 to October 4.
Asked and answered
Oktoberfest events in Chicago run from Oct 16 to Oct 27, 2026: 5 events. The busiest weekend is Oct 16 – Oct 18, with 3 events.
Yes: 3 events are on for Oct 16 – Oct 18, including American Legion Whiting Post 80 Oktoberfest Dinner, Ladies Auxiliary Post 1205 October Fest and Muggs N Manor Oktoberfest Party at Muggs-N-Manor. Another 5 events are on nearby.
Yes: 1 of the 5 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: 6 more events are listed within reach of Chicago, in Aurora, Lowell, Valparaiso and Kenosha and more. The soonest is Rosary Haus is Coming! in Aurora, on Fri, Oct 16.
At 5 venues, including Muggs-N-Manor, The Harding Tavern and Station 34.
The most popular on AllEvents right now are Muggs N Manor Oktoberfest Party at Muggs-N-Manor (Sat, Oct 17), NICAR | HRO | NSBAR Oktoberfest at Station 34 (Tue, Oct 27) and Ladies Auxiliary Post 1205 October Fest (Sat, Oct 17).
Munich's 2026 Oktoberfest ran from September 19 to October 4, 2026, 16 days on the Theresienwiese.
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
New YorkStone Street and the beer hallsKeep exploring
