Oktoberfest is the season here in La Crosse. Beer festivals and Bavarian nights run late with live music and giant steins, though nobody minds if you sit the dancing out. The food carries the rest of it, bratwurst and pretzels on almost every menu and long tables down by the water where a table of strangers stops being strangers. Or skip the crowd and keep it to one good beer with friends. Explore Oktoberfest 2026 events and parties around La Crosse and book your tickets before they run out.
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On nowBest for a dateSep 24–274 days
Join us for the 65th Oktoberfest celebration in La Crosse, WI! Get ready for the ultimate fall celebration at the 65th Annual Oktoberfest in La Crosse, Wisconsin! From September 24-27, immerse yourself in f
$25 – $157.95Live music
On nowSep 24–263 days
Come visit us downtown this Oktoberfest at the Hatchery for your favorite Red Pines & German specials! Our food truck will be on-site the following days and times: Thursday, Sept. 24th 4 PM-8PM Friday, Sept. 25th 10 AM - 8 PM Saturday, Sept. 26th 1
On nowFri, Sep 25
Join us this Oktoberfest for cold beer, hot coffee, delicious food, and incredible live music! Located in the heart of the party downtown, our patio offers the best of the fest with great prices, free entertainment, and a bit of respite in the midst of L
Live music
On nowFri, Sep 25
🎶 Keep Oktoberfest Friday going with two killer Midwest bands at the Popcorn! La Crosse’s own Gregg Hall & The Wrecking Ball bring their mix of outlaw country, blues, and rock & roll, alongside Minneapolis-based Demitrious Rallis and their rootsy,
Most popularSat, Sep 26
Pack your dirndls and lederhosen, because FTL is ready to blast off to one of the largest and most well-known Oktoberfest celebrations in the United States- in beautiful La Crosse, WI! We are incredibly honored and excited to be back rockin the main stag
Best for groupsSat, Sep 26
Oktoberfest? Hölle, ja! Oktoberfest USA in La Crosse is nationally known, internationally referenced + Wisconsin famous! Beer, Brats, Pretzels and Smart Mouth's high-energy live music party will get you yelling Auf jeden Fall!, Und ob!, Aber ja!, Jawohl!
Live music
Sat, Sep 26
🍁 We're back at Oktoberfest USA on September 26, 2026! Join us at The Remainders Garden Stage to enjoy a beautiful fall evening filled with music, food, beverages, and fellowship. The show will be jam packed with upstage video, on-stage pyrotechnics, fi
Sat, Sep 26
Doors at 8pm Music at 9pm NO COVER - Saturday of Oktoberfest is made for FREE live music, cold drinks, and dancing down at the Popcorn! SpaceHeaters is a horn-heavy alternative funk rock band that rocks the socks off the Driftless Region with tasty ori
Live music
Best on a budgetMon, Sep 28
Join us for the 2026 Ladies Day Luncheon. Enjoy a delicious meal with friends, entertainment, networking, unique vendors, & Gemütlichkeit! J oin us for the region's pre
$46.87
Sat, Oct 17
JR Junior (Nate Loeffelholz) will be Rocking out the beer tent for 2026 RUSH Wisconsin West annual soccer tournament. It will be a good time as always with Captain Awesome serving the brews and JR slinging the tunes. See ya there!
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 La Crosse, soonest first.
Before you go
Tickets, timing, what to wear, and whether the kids can come.
Every listing with a price, cheapest first.
8 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 La Crosse: Paid tickets from $25 to $157.95.
Weekend afternoons fill up first. Go early if you want a table.
In La Crosse: Saturday is the big day, with 5 of 10 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.
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.
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
Oktoberfest started as a wedding party. Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on 12 October 1810, and Munich celebrated with a horse race on a meadow outside the city gates. The meadow was named Theresienwiese after the bride, which is why locals still call the festival die Wiesn. It moved into September because late September in Bavaria is simply warmer.
Munich's 2026 Wiesn is on now: day 7 of 16, until October 4.
Asked and answered
Oktoberfest events in La Crosse run from Sep 24 to Oct 17, 2026: 10 events. The busiest weekend is Sep 25 – Sep 27, with 8 events.
Yes: 8 events are on for Sep 25 – Sep 27, including 2026 Oktoberfest USA, Red Pines Food Truck @ The Hatchery - Oktoberfest Weekend! and Cassie Brady Trio [LIVE] for Oktoberfest at GPC.
Tickets run from $25 to $157.95, set by each organiser, so check what yours includes before you book. None of the 10 events listed right now is free to get into.
Yes: 4 more events are listed within reach of La Crosse, in Trempealeau, Mondovi and West Salem. The soonest is Ecktoberfest: Ditch Lilies and Island Vibe, Monkey Business in Trempealeau, on Sun, Oct 4.
At 8 venues, including Oktoberfest - La Crosse, WI (3 dates), Popcorn Tavern, Celebrations on the River and RUSH Wisconsin WEST.
The most popular on AllEvents right now are 2026 Oktoberfest USA (Sep 24–27), Failure to Launch at Oktoberfest La Crosse at Oktoberfest - La Crosse, WI (Sat, Sep 26) and Smart Mouth at Oktoberfest USA La Crosse Main Stage 5:30-8:30p SAT 9/26 at Oktoberfest - La Crosse, WI (Sat, Sep 26).
Munich's Oktoberfest runs from September 19 to October 4, 2026, 16 days on the Theresienwiese. It is on now: today is day 7.
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
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
