Oktoberfest gives Sacramento a reason to gather. Beer festivals and Bavarian nights supply live music and giant steins, and the dancing and lederhosen are there for whoever wants them. Come with people and the food wins, bratwurst and pretzels on nearly every menu and long tables downtown where the valley heat has finally let go. If one good beer with friends is the whole night, take it. See what's on for Oktoberfest 2026 in Sacramento and book your tickets before they're gone.
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Most popularFri, Oct 93349 J St
Longest running Oktoberfest in Sacramento held at historic Turner Hall. Join us at our largest fundraiser! The Sacramento Turn Verein will hold its 57th Annual Oktoberfest at Turner Hall, a celebration patterned after the world
Fri, Oct 93349 J St
Sacramento’s Premier German Tradition Founded on June 2, 1854, the Sacramento Turn Verein is the oldest active cultural and athletic organization in Sacramento. For 57 years, the STV has carried forward the spiri
Best on a budgetFri, Oct 162958 59th St
Celebrate Oktoberfest with German food, music, beer and wine, a silent auction, raffle and prizes at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.
$28.52
Fri, Oct 23Haggin Oaks Golf Complex
2026 NorCal ITE Golf Tournament Happy Oktoberfest! Please join us in the 2026 NorCal ITE Golf Tournament, which provides great opportunites in networking, entertainment, and fundraising! Whether you'r
$97.88 – $215.26
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 Sacramento, soonest first.
Worth the tripSat, Oct 3Main St, Clayton, CA 94517, United States
Live music
Sat, Oct 24399 Wiget Ln, Walnut Creek
Before you go
Tickets, timing, what to wear, and whether the kids can come.
Every listing with a price, cheapest first.
2 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 Sacramento: Paid tickets from $28.52 to $215.26.
Weekend afternoons fill up first. Go early if you want a table.
In Sacramento: Friday is the big day, with 4 of 4 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 11 of 16, until October 4.
Asked and answered
Oktoberfest events in Sacramento run from Oct 9 to Oct 23, 2026: 4 events. The busiest weekend is Oct 9 – Oct 11, with 2 events.
Nothing is listed in Sacramento itself for Oct 2 – Oct 4, but 3 events are on nearby, in Clayton, Plumas Lake and Rio Oso.
Tickets run from $28.52 to $215.26, set by each organiser, so check what yours includes before you book. None of the 4 events listed right now is free to get into.
Yes: 9 more events are listed within reach of Sacramento, in Clayton, Plumas Lake, Rio Oso and Wheatland and more. The soonest is CBCA Clayton Oktoberfest in Downtown Clayton in Clayton, on Sat, Oct 3.
The most popular on AllEvents right now are Sacramento Turn Verein 57th Oktoberfest (Fri, Oct 9), 57th Annual Oktoberfest at Turner Hall (Fri, Oct 9) and 2026 NorCal ITE Golf Tournament at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex (Fri, Oct 23).
Munich's Oktoberfest runs from September 19 to October 4, 2026, 16 days on the Theresienwiese. It is on now: today is day 11.
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
ChicagoStreet fests all season
New YorkStone Street and the beer hallsKeep exploring
