Celebrate Oktoberfest in New Mexico 2015 at one of these great festivals. There are five Oktoberfest festivals in New Mexico. That’s a decent amount for a state that only has 200,000 residents claiming German heritage. Be sure to recruit your friends to these New Mexico Oktoberfest parties:
2015 Events
Red River Oktoberfest – Red River, NM – October 9-11, 2015
Authentic German food, craft beers & New Mexico wines. A themed “Mega Mustache” pub crawl takes you to participating bars with beer and food specials. Brewery contest awards Best Amber, Best Lager and People’s Choice to attending brewers. Miss and Mr Oktoberfest competitions feature stein holding and obstacle course. There is also a keg karry contest for men, where they carry full kegs from Brandenburg Park to the Bull o’ the Woods Saloon. Ladies carry pony kegs. Bratwurst buffet upon completion of keg karry is free for participants and $5 for spectators. You will also find the chicken dance, yodeling and brat eating. There’s live music, arts & crafts vendors, and family friendly activities, too. Music will feature Eurofest Polka Band and Red River Schnitzels. Admission is free. Commemorative taster mug is available for $10 or stein glass for $20. Event t-shirts are $25. Location: 101 West Main Street, Red River, NM
Ruidoso Oktoberfest – Ruidoso, NM – October 16-17, 2015
The 34th Anniversary of the Ruidoso Oktoberfest, brought to you by the Special Events Resource Group and Admiral Beverage Corporation. There will be German food, beer, live German music, and dancing.
Location: Ruidoso Convention Center, 111 Sierra Blanca Dr, Ruidoso, NM 88345
Past Events
Rio Rancho Oktoberfest – Rio Rancho, NM – September 19-20, 2014
A two day Albuquerque Oktoberfest celebration with beer, Food, Miss Oktoberfest contest, Petanque competition, , home brew competition, German car show and kids entertainment. Start Friday at 2:30 pm. Starts Saturday at 11:30 am.
Location: 2006 Grande Blvd SE Rio Rancho, NM 87124
Santa Fe Brewing Company Oktoberfest – Santa Fe, NM – October 19, 2013
An annual, family friendly Santa Fe Oktoberfest with live music to benefit local charities. Seasonal beer sampling, bratwurst eating contest, local food trucks and more! Date was released on their Facebook page.
Location: Santa Fe Sol Stage and Grill, 35 Fire Place, Santa Fe, NM
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!
Some of these Oktoberfest parties might be a bit smaller than you would hope because of the number of New Mexico citizens with German ancestry. Try my list of the largest Oktoberfests in the United States for the most popular and attended celebrations of German heritage. You should also check the lists of nearby states that also celebrate Oktoberfest: Arizona, Colorado and Texas.
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 New Mexico in October:
New Mexico Festivals
New Mexico Corn Mazes
New Mexico Ghost Tours
Haunted Houses in New Mexico
New Mexico Pumpkin Patches
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