Lincolnwood gives Oktoberfest its free weekends. The beer gardens fill with live music, giant steins and dancing, and nobody's ever been asked for lederhosen. Bring people and the eating starts on its own, bratwurst and pretzels going round the communal tables until the night has its own shape. If a good beer with friends is the plan, keep it. See what's on for Oktoberfest 2026 in Lincolnwood, pick what suits, and book your tickets before they're taken.
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Oct 16–18Cut It Out Scrapbooking, Crystal Lake3 days
IT'S CROPTOBERFEST!!! Bring your photos and albums, your stamps and cards, your projects or whatever you're working on and join us for a weekend of crafting, games, prizes, food and fun! Crop Hours: Friday NOON to Sunday 6pm (we stay until the last pers
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
Fri, Oct 16901 N Edgelawn Dr, Aurora
OKTOBERFEST 2026 at the Rosary Haus (21+ immediately following the Homecoming Powder Puff Game). Act now to get Early Bird Admission Ticket pricing: $45 per person. Your ticket includes: Dinner, Open Bar and Live Music! More info:
Live music21+
Fri, Oct 16901 N Edgelawn Dr, Aurora
The Rosary Sports Boosters and Rosary Royal Parents invite adults ages 21 and older to enjoy great food, drinks, live music, and school spirit as part of our first-ever RoCo! Early Bird Admission: $45 per person (through Sept. 30) General Admission: $55
Live music21+
Sat, 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 groupsSat, 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, Chicago
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 Lincolnwood, soonest first.
Sat, Oct 17Veteran's Square, Elkhorn, Wi
Sat, Oct 17The Lowell Parks Department
Worth the tripSat, Oct 17Gallagher Way, North Clark Street, Chicago, IL, USA
$37.05Live music
Sat, Oct 174203 Montdale Park Drive, Valparaiso
Before you go
Tickets, timing, what to wear, and whether the kids can come.
Every listing with a price, cheapest first.
6 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 Lincolnwood: 1 of 8 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 Lincolnwood: Friday is the big day, with 4 of 8 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.
In Lincolnwood: 2 are 21+.
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
Munich has been doing this since 1810, when it marked the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese with a public horse race. The next year Bavarian farmers added a show of their harvest, from hops and barley to fruit, and the festival stuck. It was later moved forward into late September, because the weather then is reliably better than in October.
Munich's 2026 Wiesn ran from September 19 to October 4.
Asked and answered
Oktoberfest events in Lincolnwood run from Oct 16 to Oct 27, 2026: 8 events. The busiest weekend is Oct 16 – Oct 18, with 6 events.
Yes: 6 events are on for Oct 16 – Oct 18, including Croptoberfest: October 16/17/18 at Cut It Out Scrapbooking, American Legion Whiting Post 80 Oktoberfest Dinner and Rosary Haus is Coming!. Another 5 events are on nearby.
Yes: 1 of the 8 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 Lincolnwood, in Elkhorn, Lowell, Chicago and Valparaiso and more. The soonest is Elkhorn Oktoberfest in Elkhorn, on Sat, Oct 17.
At 7 venues, including Cut It Out Scrapbooking, Muggs-N-Manor, The Harding Tavern and Station 34.
The most popular on AllEvents right now are Rosary Haus is Coming! (Fri, Oct 16), Muggs N Manor Oktoberfest Party at Muggs-N-Manor (Sat, Oct 17) and NICAR | HRO | NSBAR Oktoberfest at Station 34 (Tue, Oct 27).
2 listings are 21+. For the rest, check the listing before you go: many events held in bars are 21+.
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.
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
