by Kirby Lindsay Laney, posted 17 September 2015
The annual Fremont Oktoberfest takes place this weekend, from September 18th – 20th, stepping up the merriment and mirth as it has for each of its 19 years! This year will be much the same as last, only more music, more kids’ activities, and more beer.
For the beer – Saturday (11a – Midnight) is your day, with 100 different small batch and craft brews to sample, and plenty of time to eat and explore Fremont before, after and during your tastings. Personally, Sunday (10:30a – 6p) looks even more fun, with the 5K Run/Walk, Street Scramble (a total hoot!,) the Fremont Rotary Club bouncy house, Zucchini 500 races, City Dog Cover Dog contest, and the Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving. Remember, Sunday is the only day when kids and dogs can enter Oktoberfest – for free, accompanied by an adult person.
Friday? Well, Friday (5p – Midnight) is also for the serious beer and cider connoisseurs, as well as those who have to be first in all things, and the generous volunteers who can get in free as an advance thanks for the hard work they’ll give for a few hours on Saturday or Sunday. (Volunteers are still needed…)
The best way to find out all about Fremont Oktoberfest is through the official website – along with links to advance tickets through Stranger Tickets.
However, Fremocentrist.com also has stories behind many aspects of the Fremont Oktoberfest, collected over its 19 years. Check out:
- The Fremont Oktoberfest is a fundraiser for the Fremont Chamber of Commerce Community Grants program. Read about the program in this column from April 2010.
- Fremont Oktoberfest, as it is today, started with Phil Megenhardt. Read about his willingness to produce an event (now the Northwest’s largest tasting garden) in record time, in a column on the 1999 Oktoberfest.
- Fremont Oktoberfest takes inspiration from the original Oktoberfest, held in Munich, and gives it a fully Fremont twist. Read about our similarities and differences in this column on the 2010 Oktoberfest.
- Last year, the Washington State Liquor Control Board gave Bold Hat Productions, producers of the Fremont Oktoberfest, the unusual opportunity (and heavy responsibility) of allowing babes-in-arms into the festival. The experiment went well, so this feature has become permanent. Read about how this has created a three-party weekend in this column on the 2014 Oktoberfest.
- Then there is the beer of the Fremont Oktoberfest, and Bold Hat’s John Thorburn gave a run-down on the brews of the 2014 Oktoberfest in a column from last September.
-
Fremont Oktoberfest has a lot going for it, but most of all the small batch and craft brews. Photo by Adrian Laney, Sep ’14 Fremont Oktoberfest has other great accessory events, like the outrageous Street Scramble. Read about it from creator, Eric Bone, in a 2010 column, and my own dismal Scramble results in a column on the 2012 Oktoberfest.
- The crowd favorite (and a Fremont legend) is the Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving. Read about our tradition of creating pumpkin pulp by chainsaw in a column on the 2011 Oktoberfest, and meet two ‘pumpkin artistés’ in a column on the 2013 Oktoberfest.
- Fremont loves its dogs, and so does City Dog Magazine. Read about how the dogs do Fremont Dogtoberfest in a column on the 2013 Oktoberfest.
- Plenty of fun can be had at Fremont Oktoberfest, but to get a look behind the scenes, and great Oktoberfest perks and prizes, be a volunteer! Read about volunteerism in a column from 2012, and another from 2009.
The Fremont Oktoberfest celebrates beer, while it benefits our community, and creates entertainment for all. Check it out this year, and find your fun at Fremont Oktoberfest!
Related Articles
- A History Of Fremont Month
- by Kirby Lindsay, June 2, 2015
- Check Your Date, And Hop Scotch!
- by Kirby Lindsay, April 16, 2010
- Evolution of the Fremont Fair
- by Kirby Lindsay, March 12, 2014
©2015 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.