Maine only has 100,000 residents with German heritage so the fact that it hosts four festivals for Oktoberfest is impressive. Don’t forget to enjoy the fall foliage while you are on your way to enjoy the German food and beer at a Maine Oktoberfest.
2014
Oktoberfest Weekend – Casco, ME – September 26-28, 2014
This adults only weekend allows you to enjoy Maine made beers and wines, browse the Maine artisan craft show, listen to the Oktoberfest entertainment and take a cruise on the Point Sebago Princess. It is held at Point Sebago, a 775 acre resort on Sebago Lake.Location: Point Sebago 261 Point Sebago Road, Casco, ME 04015
Acadia Oktoberfest – Southwest Harbor, ME – October 10-11, 2014
The first day of this celebration, Friday from 4-7 PM, is the 5th Annual Wine & Cheese Festival. Tickets are $15 per person or $27 per couple and includes program and wine tasting glass. The second day is Acadia’s 19th Annual Oktoberfest. They offer two admission options: a full admission with souvenir beer glass and 10 beer tickets for $30 or a limited admission (no beer glass and tickets) for $10. Bring cash as many vendors cannot accept credit cards or checks. Save your ticket from Friday to receive a 20% discount on Saturday admisson. Location: Smuggler’s Den Campground 20 Main St, Southwest Harbor, ME 04679
Swine & Stein Oktoberfest – Gardiner, ME – October 11, 2014
A street party on Water Street in Gardiner to celebrate Maine craft beer, Maine musicians, and Maine pork products. If Oktoberfest had its history rooted in Maine, this is how the worldwide party would go. Location: Water St, Gardiner, ME 04345
Oktoberfest Midcoast Maine – Brunswick, ME – September 20, 2014
Oktoberfest Midcoast Maine will be on September 20th from noon to 5 pm and will be ceremoniously opened with Munich, Germany, via video link. Sam Adams is sponsoring the event and they will have both stein hosting and keg tossing contests. The winner of the stein hosting will be invited by Sam Adams to compete in their national context in Boston — winners to go to Germany next year! Food is being prepared by Richard’s German Restaurant and there will have a 12 piece German band. Ticket price includes 20 18 oz engraved glass mug and three tickets for beer, brats, pretzels, or chicken.
Location: Topsham Fairgrounds, Brunswick, Maine
Marshwood Education Foundation Oktoberfest – South Berwick, ME – October 17, 2014
Back again for 2014 marks the sixth annual Oktoberfest fundraiser for the Marshwood Education Foundation. Appetizers and desserts from local chefs, live music, DJ, dancing and live auction with games and prizes. New location for the year is The Red Barn at Outlook Farm in South Berwick, Maine. Music performed by the Scharff Brothers. Activities kick off at 7:00 pm.
Oktoberfest by the Bay – Belfast, ME – September 20, 2014
Last Year’s Events
Sebago Brewing Company Oktoberfest – Gorham, ME
Sebago Brewing Company held its second annual Oktoberfest at their brewery in 2013 to celebrate the release of their Oktoberfest Lager. Enjoy their lager, other craft beer, German foods, authentic music costume contest and brewery tours. They also held a stein holding contest in 2013. Hundreds of craft beer enthusiasts joined them at the brewery and we expect they will hold the event again in 2014.
Location: 48 Sanford Drive, Gorham, ME 04038
Oktoberfest at Maine Expo – Augusta Civic Center – September 10, 2013
This trade show for plumbing, heating and cooling professionals sponsored by F.W. Webb held its first annual Oktoberfest in 2012.
Location: 76 Community Dr, Augusta, ME 04330
We have just added these maps with the locations of each Oktoberfest. We may not have had the exact location for each Oktoberfest so in some instances we have placed the marker in the general vicinity of the Oktoberfest. Be sure to get specific directions from another source and do not solely rely on our map at the moment. We have also noticed that the markers may not show up on some mobile browsers. We will work to sort out this bug in the future.
Please confirm dates, locations and activities available at the Oktoberfest before going. That’s one reason that we provide a website address when we find one. We attempt to ensure that the information for each Oktoberfest is accurate but there are bound to be a few errors. If you let us know when you find one, we will fix it. In some cases, we may link to the 2012 event when information for 2013 is not available. Do not be fooled.
The festivals listed range in size. Some events may have hundreds of thousands of attendees. Others may have only a handful. We’re sorry that we don’t have more information about attendance numbers at the moment. We will do our best to add this information as time goes on.
Professionalism varies as well. Some Oktoberfests are professional operations with large budgets. Others are local operations run by volunteers. Do your due diligence before making plans to attend so that you know what to expect. We will happily publish information about your experience with any Oktoberfest so that our visitors will be better informed in the future.
Some Oktoberfests are more family friendly than others. If you have small children, look for an Oktoberfest that has activities for kids. Other events start out with family friendly activities and become more adult oriented as it becomes later in the evening.
Not all Oktoberfest celebrations will be authentic German festival experiences. Some may simply be an excuse to drink rather than celebrate German heritage. Some may call themselves Oktoberfest but provide local or seasonal beer rather than authentic German Oktoberfest beer. Be sure to consider the type of celebration that you are looking to attend when you pick your Oktoberfest.
Activities offered at each Oktoberfest varies. Some activities that you may find are parades, keg tapping ceremony, beer gardens, Miss Oktoberfest or costume contests, stein holding contests, bratwurst eating contest, chicken dance, wiener races, keg toss, live German bands and local entertainment, polka dancing and fairground games. Some Oktoberfest events will just have beer and brats.
Please don’t drink and drive. We want everyone to get home safe. Use a designated driver or take public transportation.
Do you run one of the Oktoberfests listed? Feel free to send us additional information and we will add it. We apologize for any errors: send us corrections when you find them!
Funtober also has a list of the most popular festivals for Oktoberfest in the US. You can also find more German festivals in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Whether you have found a festival to enjoy or you will be celebrating from home, Funtober has some other resources that will help you prepare for Oktoberfest. Read about the history of Oktoberfest. Learn about Oktoberfest beer. Find the words to Oktoberfest music. Plan your Oktoberfest outfit. And try cooking some of these Oktoberfest recipes.
Find other fun things to do in Maine in October:
Maine Festivals
Maine Corn Mazes
Maine Ghost Tours
Haunted Houses in Maine
Pumpkin Patches in Maine
The post Oktoberfest in Maine appeared first on Funtober.