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Published September 24, 2026 5:00am
More than two centuries ago, in the town of Munich, Germany, the townsfolk came together to celebrate a royal marriage.
After Bavarian Crown Prince King Louis I wed Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810, the villagers were still celebrating five days and one horse race later and also presumably mitigating hangovers after much beer consumption.
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In the following years, an agricultural fair was added to the horse race, as well as more food and drink, and in the 1880s, the annual event was moved to September to celebrate the end of the harvest season and take advantage of warmer weather.
Christopher Booker, center, fills his glass with beer flowing from the tapped keg during Oktoberfest at the Western Museum of Mining & Industry. (Courtesy photo)
And this is why every September and October, we in the West don our lederhosen and other German costumery and lift giant steins of German beer to our mouths while watching polka dancers get sweaty in a tent.
Zum wohl! (That means to your health for the non-German speakers among us.)
This year’s 14th annual Colorado Springs Oktoberfest is Friday through Sunday at the Western Museum of Mining & Industry. It opens at 5 p.m. Friday with a welcome and the traditional keg-tapping ceremony at 5:25 p.m. in the 6,000-square-foot Festzelt (main tent). Guests 21 and older can get a free beer afterward.
Event organizer John O’Donnell of O’Donnell & O’Donnell believes the event’s popularity in the Springs is due to the large military presence in town.
“We have 90,000 to 100,000 former military who live here,” he said. “Many of them have been to Germany. When we started Oktoberfest, a lot of them came up to me and said they went to them in Germany.”
How much beer is too much beer?
Oktoberfest revelers often wonder if there can ever be too much beer. O’Donnell orders roughly 70 kegs of Warsteiner beer directly from Germany to satiate the masses. Each keg contains 124 cups of beer.
School’s in
If you feel like getting a little more learned, you can attend a one-hour guided Bier Schule, Wine Schule, Schnapps Schule or Mead Schule. You’ll get four German samples and a little bit of history and education. And German pastry from Edelweiss restaurant as a palate cleanser if you go to Bier Schule.
Dog days
Your wiener dog has waited all year to either make her comeback or defend her crown during the dachshund races on Saturday and Sunday. Last year, more than 100 dogs raced their little legs ragged, trying to snag glory for their family.
But why is it always dachshunds that race at Oktoberfests?
“Can you imagine Great Danes?” O’Donnell said. “Dachshunds are a German hunting dog. They use them to go down holes and drive out rabbits.”
Entertaining the masses
Camillo and the Prime Time Band and the U-Turn Brass Band will perform, while the Denver Kickers Schuhplattlers dance group does their thing throughout the weekend.
What else goes down?
Das Bake-Auf, a German baking competition in its sophomore year, was a hit at last year’s Oktoberfest. Bring your best German cookies, cakes, strudels and more for a chance to win a KitchenAid stand mixer.
If you go
What: Colorado Springs Oktoberfest
When: 5-11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Western Museum of Mining & Industry, 225 North Gate Blvd.
Price: Free, $35-$40 wine and stein packages, $15 parking; csoktoberfest.com
Dining and Cooking