COVINGTON, Ky. — Prost! It's the time of the year for Oktoberfest celebrations, and this weekend Covington is donning its lederhosen.
The 2023 Covington Oktoberfest is taking place Friday, Sept. 8 through Sunday, Sept. 10 at Goebel Park in Mainstrasse Village.
Here are Covington Oktoberfest's exact hours:
- Friday, Sept. 8 — 5-11 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 9 — 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
- Sunday, Sept. 10 — 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Oktoberfest celebration, which has been taking place since 1979, is sponsored by Braxton Brewing Company. The festival will feature live music, local food, vendors, art and, of course, beer.
Attendees will be able to satiate all of their German food wants and more with the festival's vendors, including Mick Noll's Covington Haus, Rueben USA, Bavarian Nut Company and more.
For those wanting to attend, food and vendor booths will be accepting both cash and credit cards, while beer and beverage booths will be cashless.
In terms of music, there will be two stages blasting German music from the likes of The Polka Warriors, Stein Hoist and The Fest Meisters, among others.
Outside of its live music schedule, the festival is also having some traditional Oktoberfest contests at the stages throughout the weekend.
Here are the contests you can participate in:
- Sausage Toss — Bakewell Stage — Saturday, 2 p.m.
- Stein Hoist — Bakewell Stage — Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
- Brat Eating Contest — Goebel Stage — Sunday, Halftime of the Bengals vs. Browns game
The festival has expanded this year to include W 6th Street, but there are various parking lots still available for attendees.
Here are some parking options:
- Riverhaus Parking on Bakewell Street
- Parking Lot on the corner of Pike and Washington streets
- Parking Garage on 5th Street
- Lot on the corner of 7th and Bakewell streets (Behind Cedar)
- Lot at Philadelphia and W 8th streets (Behind Goebel Pool)
The weekend-long festival has also led to some road closures in Covington that began Thursday, Sept. 7 at 6 a.m.
Here are the roads closed due to Oktoberfest:
- Philadelphia Street from 5th Street to south side of 6th Street
- 6th Street from Philadelphia Street to Bakewell Street on both sides of 6th Street
These roads will be shut down until noon on Monday, Sept. 11.
