There’s a number of 2014 festivals celebrating Oktoberfest in Connecticut for the 350,000 people claiming German descent in the state. Always a fun time with great food and beer. Here they are:
2014
New Britain Oktoberfest – New Britain, CT – September 12-14, 2014
Over 35,000 are expected to attend the second annual event in 2014. Trade in your dollars for Festival Money to purchase food and beverages. Featured beers include Spaten, Hofbrau, Wasteiner Pilsner and more. Food is a mix of German options like bratwurst, knockwurst and apple strudel as well as festival food (cotton candy, kettle corn, etc.). Don’t miss the Friday keg tapping and chicken dance. There are three parking garages that are convenient to the festival.
Old Heidelberg Oktoberfest – Bethel, CT - September 12-14, 19-21, 26-28, 2014
There is a beer garden, Oktoberfest beer and foods, music, kids entertainment and German store. Old Heidelberg is a German restaurant with beer garden that serves German beer and wine as well as 40 traditional and craft beers. Location: 55 Stony Hill Rd, Bethel CT 06801
Harugari Singing Society Oktoberfest – West Haven, CT – September 21, 2014
This German American family society holds an annual Oktoberfest with dinner, live music and entertainment. German bier and food is available for purchase. Harugari Schuhplatters will be performing and Bernie’s Orchestra will be playing. Admission is $3 for adults. 18 and under is free. Location: 66 Highland St, West Haven CT 06516
Two Road Ok2berfest – September 27-28, 2014
Second annual Oktoberfest hosted by Two Roads Brewing Company. 2 Days, 2 Bands, 2 Beers. Food trucks. $15 for one day ticket and commemorative beer stein. Noon to 6:30 PM. Location: 1700 Stratford Ave., Stratford, CT.
Quassy Amusement Park Oktoberfest – Middlebury, CT – September 27-28, 2014
23rd annual celebration of Oktoberfest at this amusement park with food, music and dancing in the Fieldside Pavilion. Two bands perform with dance groups during band intermissions. Traditional German food such as bratwurst, roasted pork and sauerkraut will be available. Admission to the pavilion is free but there is a cost for rides, park attractions, food and beverages. Parking is $6 per car. Quassy is an amusement park with 22 rides and a splash water park on the south shore of Lake Quassapaug that was founded in 1908. Location: Quassy Amusement Park, Lake Quassapaug, Rt. 64 (2132 Middlebury Road), Middlebury, CT 06762
AIDS Project New Haven Oktoberfest – Hamden, CT – October 11, 2014
This is an annual fundraiser on Saturday evening from 5 to 9 PM for the oldest HIV/AIDS service organization in Connecticut. It includes German and fall-inspired foods, beer tastings, music, and a silent auction. It will be at the New Haven Country Club. Last year, tickets after September 1st were $65. Location: 160 Hartford Turnpike Hamden, CT 06517
The Seehund Oktoberfest – New London, CT – October 3-5, 2014
The Seehund German Pub & Restaurant puts on this three day Oktoberfest event under the huge tent in their parking lot. Known for great German food, The Seehund offers a wide variety of German foods, a bier garden, featured BBQ, face painting, balloon animals for the kids, Artisan vendors and lots of live music. Friday night they feature the live acoustic guitar group FrankenPhil. On Saturday they feature DJ’s and the live Polka band Daddio’s. The fun starts Friday at 4:00 pm. The Saturday and Sunday event starts at 12:00 pm.
Location: Seehund, 345 Bank St., New London, CT.
Oktoberfest on Central Street – Windsor, CT – October 17, 2014
A scholarship fundraiser from the Windsor Exchange Club that will have food sampling, beer & wine tasting and raffle. The Exchange Club is a community service organization composed of 25,000 members with 800 local chapters nationwide. Location: 25 Central Street, Windsor, CT
Oktoberfest On The Sound - Madison, CT – September 27, 2014
A charity event sponsored by the Madison Lions Club starts at 12:00 pm. Taste the flavor of Munich with a wide selection of Spaten biers including Munchner lager, Dunkel dark, and two Oktoberfest type beers. Bavarian foods include wienerschnitzel, bratwurst, spatzel, red cabbage, potato pancakes, and apple strudel. Connecticut’s Frankenmusikanten provides the polka music or watch deutsche dancing by the Heiko, Vera & Thommy Dancers. The Steamrollers band closes out the event around 8:00 pm. Children invited and activities include Dachshund races, pumpkin decorating, and face painting. Located at Madison Surf Club, 87 Surf Club Road, Madison, CT.
Meriden Turner Society Oktoberfest – Meriden, CT – October 25, 2014
A smoked pork chop dinner with live music and bavarian dancers performing. Event starts at 6:00 pm.
Location: Meriden Turner’s Halle, 800 Old Colony Rd, Meriden, CT
Oktoberfest St. Peter Church – New Britain, CT – September 27, 2014
4th annual Oktoberfest event will be held 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm come rain or shine. The church green will have a 6000 square foot tent set up. Feature are German music, great authentic German food, and of course polka and other dancers for your entertainment.
Location: 98 Franklin Square, New Britain, CT.
Oktoberfest Milford – Milford, CT – September 27, 2014
A one day Oktoberfest in late September with beer garden, German and American food, live music and a bratwurst eating contest. Admission is $10 per person but kids under 16 are free.
Location: Rotary Pavilion at Fowler Field, 1 Shipyard Ln, Milford, CT 06460
Historic Perry House Oktoberfest – Stratford, CT – September 20, 2014
A one day fundraiser in mid-late September at the Historic Perry House. Includes German dancers, beer and wursts, pretzels and other Bavarian delicacies. Tickets are $50 per person. Event starts at 6:00 pm.
Location: 1128 W Broad St, Stratford, CT 06615
Hartford Saengerbund Oktoberfest Dinner Dance - October 11, 2014
A casual beer and brats gathering beginning at noon. Cover is $5 for adults.
Location: 719 North Mountain Rd, Newington CT 06111
Last Year’s Events
Gaelic-American Club Oktoberfest – Fairfield, CT – September 29, 2013
4-8 PM (no other information available on their website).
Location: 74 Beach Road, Fairfield, CT. 06824
Oktoberfest Pub Crawl – Norwich, CT – October 12, 2013
This Oktoberfest, planned by the Norwich Community Development Corporation, will start at Harp and Dragon, move to Billy Wilson’s, and finish at Chacers Bar and Grill.
Shoreline Oktoberfest – Guilford, CT - Not Happening in 2014
Traditional German food, American fare, and beer garden serving Hofbrauhaus and American beer. Live German music, dancing, car cruise, wiener dog races and Midway by Stewart Amusement. Tickets available on their website. 100% of proceeds benefit three charities.
Location: Guilford Fairgrounds
The Bijou Theatre Film Festival and Oktoberfest – Bridgeport, CT – October 3-6, 2013
German festivities catered by Old Heidelberg, three musical performances and independent film screenings.
Location: The Bijou Theatre, 275 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604
Camille B. Perugini Charitable Trust Oktoberfest – Naugatuck, CT
Beer and Wine Tasting, Live Entertainment; German and American Food Concessions. We haven’t seen any evidence as of 9/3/2013 that this Connecticut Oktoberfest is happening this year.
Location: Jesse Camille’s Restaurant, 615 North Church Street, Naugatuck, Connecticut
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!
Connecticut, it’s possible that you can easily make it to the surrounding states of Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island for some large Oktoberfest celebrations.
We’ve got some other resources that would help you prepare for Oktoberfest as well. 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 Connecticut in October:
Connecticut Festivals
Connecticut Corn Mazes
Connecticut Ghost Tours
Haunted Houses in Connecticut
Pumpkin Patches in Connecticut
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