Celebrate Oktoberfest in South Dakota for 2015. When I started looking for a South Dakota Oktoberfest, I saw reference after reference to Deadwood. I had to look pretty hard to find one anywhere else. If you have been there, I need you to explain why everyone in South Dakota goes there for Oktoberfest. Thanks!
Last Major Update:
2015 Events
Deadwood Oktoberfest – Deadwood, SD – October 2-3, 2015
Celebrate Oktoberfest in the Wild West in early October. Enjoy food, beer, dancing, live German music, as well as the Tour de Oktoberfest, famous Wiener Dog Races and beer barrel games. They feature a number of events such as the STRONGMAN competition, German cook off, and giveaways.
Location: 767 Main Street, Deadwood, SD.
Hill City 1880 Train Oktoberfest – Hill City, SD – September 26, 2015
Sixth annual Oktoberfest Express with live music by Easy Sounds of Rapid City prior to departure. On board, there’s seasonal beer, traditional German foods, and costume contest. Tickets are $52 per adult and it’s 21+ only on the train. $5 discount for designated drivers. Tickets sell out weeks in advance so purchase early. Entertainment for approximately one hour prior to departure and roundtrip ride lasts approximately two hours.
Germanfest – Sioux Falls, SD – September 12, 2015
This Sioux Falls Oktoberfest has beer tent and more than ten food and beverage vendors with 10+ varieties of beer.. Live music by Alpensterne and Barry Boyce Band. All proceeds from wiener dog races benefit Dakota Dachshund Rescue. Kids activity area will have a puppet show, inflatables, face painting and trains rides. Location: Falls Park-West, Phillips Ave., Sioux Falls
Sodak Stamm Oktoberfest – Menno, SD – October 24, 2015
A german buffett with entertainment at the Menno City-School Auditorium. Tickets are $20. Music by Brockfest Boys Band.
Location: Menno City School Auditorium, Menno, SD.
Last Year’s Events
Oktobeerfest – Mitchell, SD – October 3, 2014
Live and silent auctions to support Make-A-Wish South Dakota. 50 craft beers to sample. Live music by Chris Miller and brat bar.
Location: Highland Conference Center
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!
Since there aren’t a lot of listings for festivals here, I thought you would enjoy the larger festivals for Oktoberfest in the United States. There are Oktoberfest celebrations in these surrounding states: Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming.
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 South Dakota in October:
South Dakota Festivals
South Dakota Corn Mazes
South Dakota Ghost Tours
Haunted Houses in South Dakota
Pumpkin Patches in South Dakota
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