Are you ready to enjoy good German beer and cuisine? In September and October 2015, there will be a number of places to enjoy Oktoberfest in Massachusetts.
Unsurprisingly, many of these fall German festivals are centered around Boston. If you are looking for a good Boston Oktoberfest, look no further than the Samuel Adams brewery, home to one of America’s most popular Octoberfest beers. 2015 will also mark the 25th anniversary of the first beer festival at the Harpoon Brewery in Boston, so there’s bound to be great festivities planned for this year.
2015 Events
Harpoon Oktoberfest – Boston, MA – October 2-3, 2015
Oktoberfest has been going strong in fall at Harpoon in Boston for more than two decades. 2015 is Harpoon’s 25th annual Boston Oktoberfest of beer, music, and Fall in New England. On Friday, the event goes from 5:30 PM to 11 PM. On Saturday, the party goes from 1 PM to 7 PM. It includes Harpoon beer, German food, Oompah bands, chicken dancing, keg bowling game, and German chocolate cake-eating contest. Location: 306 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA 02210
Cambridge 5k Oktoberfest – Cambridge, MA – Sunday, October 4, 2015
A German themed 5K road race that starts at 9:30 AM followed by an Oktoberfest sponsored by Cambridge Brewing. Registration includes race shirt plus food and beverages at the after-party. The event benefits the Cambridge Family & Children’s Services. Location:1 Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA
Past Events
Samuel Adams Octoberfest & Boston Calling Music Festival - City Hall Plaza, Boston, MA – September 5-7, 2014
Taste the Samuel Adams Octoberfest with the merger this year at the annual Boston Calling Music Festival. As part of the 30th anniversary celebrations, Sam Adams Boston Beer Company will join with Boston Calling to put on a huge downtown Boston event. Wear you lederhosen and dirndl costume at their release party or participate in the National Stein Hoisting Competition. They have all the games, beer tents, dancing and fun that you would expect from an Oktoberfest plus the national entertainment one finds at this huge music festival event. Boston Calling will feature Lorde, The National, and Nas x The Roots plus 20 other bands at this years event. Be sure to get your tickets early as some of the music will sell out. Location: City Hall Plaza, Boston, MA
Hopedale Oktoberfest – Milford, MA – October 4, 2014
Beer and wine garden with multiple bands. German, Italian and American foods as well as a Chowdah-Fest. Arts & Crafts, car show and more! Location: 12 Hopedale Street, Hopedale, Massachusetts 01747
Douglas Octoberfest – Douglas, MA – October 4, 2014
Douglas’ most popular local event is its Octoberfest street fair. There’s lots of entertainment, rides and games. Proceeds from many food booths, games, and childrens’ activities go to support local community groups. Location: Main St, Douglas, Massachusetts
BSV Oktoberfest – Walpole, MA – September 6-7, 2014
Several thousand attend this two day Oktoberfest with German food, beer, games and even a full-contact medieval fighting exhibition. Location: 8 County St, Walpole, MA 02081
Plymouth Masonic Lodge – October 4, 2014
Outdoor oktoberfest on Saturday from 1 to 6 PM to benefit the family of Chet Flattery. It will have German food, live entertainment, refreshments and activities. Advance tickets are $20.
Marion Oktoberfest – Marion – September 13, 2014
Organized by Marion’s Pythagorean Lodge Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. German food including bratwurst, kanckwurst, sauerkraut and pastries served from noon to 8 PM. German music by Alpenblumen Musikanten from 11:30-3:30 pm. German dancers from 2 to 6 PM. The Bavarian Brothers play from 6 to 10 PM. Cost is $10. Kids under 12 are free.
Location: 465 Mill Street, Marion MA 02738
Oktoberfest in Harvard Square - Cambridge, MA – October 12, 2014
The 36th annual Oktoberfest attended by 200,000 includes legendary HONK parade, Sam Adams Beer Garden, 50+ international food vendors, multiple stages of live entertainment and sidewalk vendors along with family friendly activities.
Location: Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
Chatham Oktoberfest - Chatham, MA – October 25, 2014
Held at Kate Gould Park is this Oktoberfest with great beers, bratwurst, cupcake contests, kid’s games, and Pumpkin People in the Park. Event takes place October 25th between 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The huge pumpkin people will remain on display through Halloween.
Location: Kate Gould Park, Main Street, Chatham, MA
Newburyport Oktoberfest – Newburyport, MA – September 27, 2014
A fun, family friendly event at Bartlett Mall with traditional German food, music and craft beers in a beer tent. There will also be activities and rides for kids of all ages! Live music by the Oberlaendler Hofbrau Band
Location: Bartlett Mall, Newburyport, MA
Nashoba Valley Oktoberfest - Westford, MA – September 5-7, 2014
Littleton and Westford celebrate Oktoberfest at the Nashoba Valley Ski Resort. This inaugural event features an authentic “Munich-style” Oktoberfest complete with Bavarian beers, food, German music, games, contests, and lots of fun. It starts Friday at 4:00 pm, Saturday at 12:00 pm, and Sunday at 12:00 pm. Highlight the day by visiting both the domestic and international beer gardens. Littleton resident get in free on Friday. Tickets are $5. Foods include bratwurst, baked pretzels, baklava, and pancakes. Oompah bands, polka bands, folk dancers and more include the Mad Bavarian Brass Band, Double Eagle Otoberfest Band, Jolly Kopperschmidt, Its “Daddio’s”, and the Bavarian Hofbrau Band.
Location: 79 Powers Road, Westford, MA 01886.
Oktoberfest Marshfield – Marshfield, MA – October 24-26 and 31-November 2, 2014
Event features New England’s largest and most thrilling midway. This is an authentic styled Oktoberfest featuring great beers and both domestic and international beer gardens. Lots of good German styled foods, games, tastings, fiesta shows, and demonstrations. Even contest of skill such as the Beer Mug obstacle course.
Location: 140 Main St., Marshfield, MA 02050.
NB Oktoberfest – New Bedford, MA – October 4, 2014
It’s a local fundraiser sponsored by the South Coast Business Alliance held at Custom House Square. It features local, seasonal craft brews and live music at the 9th annual event. In 2013, they also had bull riding. It runs from 3:00 pm to 12:00 am. More than 20 breweries and 4 live bands will be there.
Location: State Pier Ferry Terminal of New Bedford
South Shore Oktoberfest – Quincy, MA – October 3, 2014
An annual event that has been going on for six years. It is a benefit for South Shore charities with Oktoberfest beer, German food and (after 9 PM) bar games with live DJ and karaoke. Advance tickets are $20. Must be 21+.
Location: Tirrell Room, 254 Quarry St., Quincy, MA.
Cape Cod Beer – October 4, 2014
German food, Cape Cod Beer and Oktoberfest Challenges at this family friendly event. Competitions include the CornHole Toss, Growler holding, hop counting and others. Free admission.
Location: 1336 Phinneys Lane Hyannis
Clinton Turners Oktoberfest – Clinton, MA – September 20, 2014
German food and beer under the big top at Turner Hall Pavilion. German music provided by “The Mad Bavarian Brass Band”. Activities include the horseshoe tournament, face painting, games, races and moonwalk. Free admission. Hours are from noon to 5 PM.
Location: 60 Branch St., Clinton, MA.
Mashpee Oktoberfest – Mashpee, MA – October 11, 2014
27th annual Oktoberfest held at Mashpee Commons and hosted by the city’s recreation department.
Oktoberfest Der Beehive
Boston, MA – No date yet
There has been an annual Boston Oktoberfest at The Beehive, a Bohemian eatery and bar in Boston’s South End, the past few years. We don’t see it on their September 2013 schedule of events.
Location: 541 Tremont Street, Boston, MA
Oktoberfest at Jacob Wirth – Boston, MA
You’ll find various breweries with Oktoberfest beers take over the taps during September and October at Jacob Wirth, a classic European restaurant that offers a menu of German specialties throughout the year. They haven’t posted a calendar of events for 2013 yet.
Location: 31 Stuart St, Boston, MA 02116
Cape Cod Oktoberfest – Sandwich, MA – October 13, 2013 – SEE NOTE
The website for the host of this event is down, so we’re unsure whether it is still happening. The Aqua Grille on the Cape Cod Canal normally hosts this celebration with German food, live band and yodeling contest.
Location: 14 Gallo Road, Sandwich, Massachusetts 02563
Tri-Town Octoberfest – Mansfield, MA – October 8, 2013
The 8th annual evening food tasting with delicacies from local restaurants and live music to benefit Foxboro, Mansfield & Norton Food Pantries.
Location: 280 School Street, Mansfield, MA
Salem Oktoberfest – Salem, Mass – September 14, 2013
Live music, costume contest, beer and bratwurst hosted by Pamplemousse & Social Palates to benefit the Salem YMCA.
Location: Old Town Hall
Rotary Club of Winchester Oktoberfest – Winchester, MA
We don’t see a date posted for 2013.
Location: 71 Mt Vernon St, Winchester, MA 01890
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 2014 event when information for 2015 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!
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 Massachusetts in October:
Massachusetts Festivals
Massachusetts Corn Mazes
Massachusetts Ghost Tours
Haunted Houses in Massachusetts
Massachusetts Pumpkin Patches
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