The Western Museum of Mining & Industry, located at 225 North Gate Blvd., will host the 14th annual Colorado Springs Oktoberfest Sept. 25–27. The three-day celebration of Bavarian food, music and culture typically draws close to 8,000 attendees.
The festival opens Friday with a welcome from host Camillo at 5 p.m., followed by a traditional keg-tapping ceremony at 5:25 p.m. in the 6,000-square-foot Festzelt, or main tent. Guests 21 and older may receive a complimentary beer after the tap. Live German music, dancing and authentic German food continue throughout the weekend.
Ticketed tasting "Schule" sessions allow guests 21 and older to sample German bier, wine, mead and schnapps with instructors. Sessions include Warsteiner Bier Schule on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, Wine Schule on Friday and Saturday evening, Mead Schule Saturday afternoon and Schnapps Schule Saturday evening. Pre-registration is recommended and tickets are required.
The Dachshund Dash returns Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., as dachshunds compete for treats and bragging rights. Sunday also features Das Bake-Auf, a German-inspired baking competition with a $10 entry fee; check-in and drop-off run from 11:30 a.m. to noon, with judging at noon and winners announced at 1:30 p.m. in the main tent.
Costume, yodeling and stein-hoisting contests, along with other games, take place in the Festzelt throughout the festival, with some contests requiring participants to be 21 or older. Registrations for the Dachshund Dash, tasting Schules and Das Bake-Auf are available at csoktoberfest.com.
Full event schedules, ticket pricing details and any weather-related updates from the museum had not been released at time of publication.