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.
Fresh listingsupdated
Every listing
On nowSep 19 – Oct 3PB&J: Pizza Beer and Jukebox15 days
Celebrate Oktoberfest with us at PB&J in the heart of West Loop. 🍻 Oktoberfest Block Party at PB&J Get ready to raise a stein and celebrate Oktoberfest at PB&J’s Okto
$7.18
Best for a dateFri, Oct 2Cooking with Cass
Get ready to learn how to twist some pretzels, enjoy gourmet sausages , handcrafted dips, and sip your way through a guided beer tasting! Oktoberfest Pretzel Making, Gourmet Sausages, Handcrafted Dips &
$69.87 – $92.55TastingClass
Best on a budgetFri, Oct 22050 N Fremont St
Oktoberfest approaches! Wear your Lederhosen and Dirndls and come to the St James Courtyard. Prost! On Friday, October 2nd, 7pm, wear your lederhosen and dirndls and come to the Courtyard for German food, b
Free
Something differentSat, Oct 3Canine Crews
Barktoberfest - Bavarian-style fun for dogs and their humans raising funds for MCP Rescue Barktoberfest 2026 Canine Crews' annual dog-friendly Oktoberfest
$7.18 – $28.52Dog-friendly
Oct 3–4The Boss Bar2 days
Get ready for an epic Oktoberfest celebration at The Boss Bar! College Game Day, and $20 Shot Ski all day. Your $20 ticket includes your choice of Paulaner, Oktoberfest Bier, or Oktoberfest Märzen, plus a s
$25.50
Sun, Oct 4Cooking with Cass
Oktoberfest Pretzel Making & Gourmet Sausages,& Handcrafted Dips. Enjoy the Packers football game on our TV's! Prost! Get ready for an Oktoberfest-inspired evening filled with delici
$71.21Class
Most popularSat, Oct 17Gallagher Way, North Clark Street, Chicago, IL, USA
Your fall plans at Gallagher Way await, with local craft brews, football, food and lawn games! The Beer Garden at Gallagher Way: A Fall Festivity Join us on Saturday, October 17 for a beer tasti
$37.05
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.
Fri, Oct 2523 S Webster St, Naperville
Worth the trip
Sat, Oct 37905 W Lincoln Hwy, Frankfort
$12.51Family-friendly
Sat, Oct 3Weber Grill Restaurant & Cooking School, Lombard
$99.23TastingClass
Sat, Oct 10Sts. Dennis & Joseph Catholic Academy Annual Oktoberfest, Lockport
Live musicFamily-friendly
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.
Before you go
Tickets, timing, what to wear, and whether the kids can come.
Every listing with a price, cheapest first.
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 7 free to get in; paid tickets from $7.18 to $92.55.
Weekend afternoons fill up first. Go early if you want a table.
In Chicago: Saturday is the big day, with 4 of 7 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 GemĂĽtlichkeit
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit
der GemĂĽtlichkeit.
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit
der GemĂĽtlichkeit.
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 is on now: day 13 of 16, until October 4.
Asked and answered
Oktoberfest events in Chicago run from Sep 19 to Oct 17, 2026: 7 events. The busiest weekend is Oct 2 – Oct 4, with 5 events.
Yes: 6 events are on for Oct 2 – Oct 4, including Oktoberfest Block Party at PB&J: Pizza Beer and Jukebox, OKTOBERFEST PRETZEL MAKING, GOURMET SAUSAGES & GUIDED BEER TASTING at Cooking with Cass and St. James Oktoberfest 2026 (FREE). Another 7 events are on nearby.
Yes: 1 of the 7 listed is free to get into, including St. James Oktoberfest 2026 (FREE). Paid tickets for the rest run from $7.18 to $92.55. Food and drink are usually paid for on the day.
Yes: 9 more events are listed within reach of Chicago, in Racine, Naperville, Crown Point and North Aurora and more. The soonest is October First Fridays "Oktoberfest" in Racine, on Fri, Oct 2.
At 6 venues, including Cooking with Cass (2 dates), PB&J: Pizza Beer and Jukebox, Canine Crews and The Boss Bar.
The most popular on AllEvents right now are The Beer Garden at Gallagher Way at Gallagher Way, North Clark Street, Chicago, IL, USA (Sat, Oct 17), OKTOBERFEST PRETZEL MAKING, GOURMET SAUSAGES & GUIDED BEER TASTING at Cooking with Cass (Fri, Oct 2) and Barktoberfest 2026! A fundraiser for MCP Rescue at Canine Crews (Sat, Oct 3).
Munich's Oktoberfest runs from September 19 to October 4, 2026, 16 days on the Theresienwiese. It is on now: today is day 13.
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
