Oktoberfest in Illinois 2024
Have you made your plans to enjoy beer and brats in 2024 at an Oktoberfest in Illinois already? If not, get your calendar out and ask your friends as there are plenty of options to visit a German beer festival in your local community or travel into the city for a Chicago Oktoberfest.
Last Major Update:2024 was a great year for Oktoberfest! We'll be back with more next year.
Looks like plenty of great Oktoberfest parties running all the way up to November to enjoy, so Prost!
All events showing current dates need to be verified to confirm that changes to the schedule were not made by the organizers after publication here. We do not run these events, and would hate for anyone to go out of their way only to find the event had been canceled after releasing a date. Please click through to the event website to confirm! Be safe and have a great fall!
2024 Events
If you’ve attended all of these festivals, you can always check out the list of the celebrations in surrounding states: Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and Wisconsin.
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Past Events
We hope you enjoy these celebrations of Oktoberfest. Let us know below which one you've headed to and which one you like the best!
We have added 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 last year's event when information for this year is not yet 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. Uber and Lyft often offer ride credits for new users.
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.
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 or updates if you find them! We also love to list new Oktoberfests, and have advertising solutions if you'd like to reach a wider audience.
Find other fun things to do in Illinois in fall:
Illinois Festivals
Illinois Corn Mazes
Illinois Ghost Tours
Illinois Corn Mazes
Haunted Houses in Illinois
Illinois Pumpkin Patches
ya know there are cities in Illinois that are NOT near Chicago!!! none listed!!!!!!
You caught me. As I grew up in Michigan, I have an intense hatred of all cities in Illinois not near Chicago and it manifested itself on this list. I apologize. If you find an Oktoberfest I’m missing, I will do my best to overcome my deep prejudice and add it here.
We’d love for you to add us to your list for 2013!
We’ll be having the German Society of Rockford’s Oktoberfest Friday, Sept 27 and Sat., Sept 28, 2013 at Loves Park City Hall in Loves Park, IL.
The Jacksonville rotary club will be holding its 3rd annual Oktoberfest on October 5, 2013 at the Morgan county fairgrounds in Jacksonville il. German beer, music and unique German food along with games and a wiener dog race.
Hi – There are at least 3 more Oktoberfests I know of in Chicago:
Sept.5-6 weekend =
Octoberfest in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood: Western, just south of Lawrence https://www.germanday.com/program_of_events.html &
Itasca’s Octoberfest itasca.com &
Sept 19-21=Palatine,IL Octoberfest https://www.palatinerotary.com/Oktoberfest.php .
I look forward to your list every year now, Thanks for putting it together!
The McHenry Sunrise Rotary club is hosting an Oktoberfest on Oct 24th from 6pm to 11 pm.
If you like BEER, the place to be is McHenry Sunrise Rotary’s OKTOBERFEST on Friday, October 24th, at the McHenry VFW Post #4600 from 6 – 11 p.m. An impressive variety of purveyors will be there to talk beer and offer tastings of their brews. Every admission will include a commemorative event mug on a lanyard, one free sausage with fresh chips provided by the VFW, and unlimited beer sampling during the event. Raffles and other fundraising activities will be available during the event, so bring plenty of greenbacks as all proceeds will benefit the charitable giving of the McHenry Sunrise Rotary Club. Like our page on Facebook to learn what we do for the benefit of our community.
For more information please visit http://www.rotary-oktoberfest.com
Can you please tell me why in Illinois Octoberfest is celebrated in August instead of October ?
Thank-you.
The lineup of fall festivals is pretty crowded. There’s a few organizations around the country which have pushed them into August in order to cater to patrons who would otherwise go to other events. If Oktoberfest can be celebrated in September in Munich, why not August? Like pumpkin beers, it is tough to stop seasonal creep.
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