CINCINNATI — Prost!
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati kicks off Thursday, Sept. 19 and runs through Sunday, Sept. 22.
The annual festival, which is the largest Oktoberfest celebration outside of Germany's, is back bigger than ever before — and it's also in a new location.
Oktoberfest will bring its beer, food, Bavarian music and more to Sawyer Point and Yeatman's Cove this year.
Here's everything you need to know about this year's celebration:
What's new
With its new location, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is set within a larger and expanded space split into the "West Zone" and "East Zone," which are separated by the Purple People Bridge.
The "East Zone" contains the Weihenstephan Beer Garden, the Krombacher Fest Tent and the Radeberger Fest Tent, as well as a playground., Zinzinnati Zircus and more.
The "West Zone" includes the River Stage at Serpentine Wall, several beer tents, the Sports Zone and the new Zinzinnati Festhalle. The Zinzinnati Festhalle is a 300-foot tent that can see more than 1,000 people, according to Oktoberfest Zinzinnati's website.
Click here to see the full festival map.
Amy Fitzgibbons, the vice president of marketing and communications for the Cincinnati Regional Chamber, said moving down to the riverfront allowed for more than its previous location on Fifth Street.
"This is very much of kind of that Munich, Germany Oktoberfest that people know about," Fitzgibbons said. "We wanted to try to bring that here. This was the space to be able to do it, here in the park. Other spaces we've been in the past just haven't lent to it."
Entertainment
Oktoberfest will feature more than 30 performances on several stages over the course of its four days. Other than musical acts, Oktoberfest has multiple mainstay events that happen thoughout the weekend.
- Gemutlichkeit Games — Thursday, 4:30-5:30 p.m. @ the River Stage
- The Running of the Wieners — Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. @ the River Stage
- Stein Hoisting Competition — Friday, 6-6:30 p.m. @ the River Stage
- World's Largest Chicken Dance — Saturday, 4-4:30 p.m. @ the River Stage
For the full entertainment schedule, click here.
Parking
Because Oktoberfest is taking place at Sawyer Point and Yeatman's Cove, there are no road closures this year due to the festival. There are several road closures from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday due to the Hudy 14K/7K race, though.
Despite this, it's still going to be a busy weekend in downtown, festival organizers suggest festival-goers take extra time to find parking, carpool with friends or utilized rideshare services and public transportation.
For those looking for parking, there are several paid, surface lots along Eggleston Avenue, which is a short walk to the east entrance of Oktoberfest. There is also metered and free parking along Riverside Drive.
Other parking lots organizers suggest are:
- Friendship Parking Lot, 1135 Riverside Drive
- Public Landing Parking Lot, 435 E Mehring Way
- Eggleston Garage, 301 Eggleston Avenue
- The Banks, including Central Riverfront Garage and East Parking Garage
The Cincinnati Connector, the city's free streetcar, will also be operating with extended hours during Oktoberfest.
- Monday through Friday — 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
- Saturday — 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
- Sunday — 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Metro buses will also have near the festival, as will TANK in Northern Kentucky.
Rideshare pickup and drop-off locations will be either at East Pete Rose Way or East Mehring Way.
