My first Oktoberfest! It was fun tried all kinds of food / alligator bites - and jumbo cream puff - - pretzel wrapped bratswurst with beer cheese sauce - very nice event ! I had a wonderful time :) lovely summer fair !! read more

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I am addicted to this festival! So much fun to spend a few days at! First of all, you must go with other people to really enjoy it....invite your family, friends, coworkers. Second, get crazy - wear some lederhosen or a drindl. Buy a hat or a flower headband. Buy a fun Oktoberfest tshirt to wear. Get in the spirit! Third, if you love beer, try it all! There's also wine and spirits around the festival for purchase, but beer is really what everyone drinks. Not only are there Oktoberfest beers, such as Paulaner and Hacker Pschorr, but many local craft beers. Fourth, go early and have a Bahama Mama from Schmidt's in Columbus for lunch. If you're still hungry, have a giant cream puff or strudel for dessert. Fifth, watch the Weiner races, enjoy some traditional dancers, walk through the vendors area of crafts and German imports, watch a sand sculpture being made right in front of your eyes, get a picture taken with Krampus and crew, watch the Strongman competition. Sixth, go to the Glockenspiel as many times as you can and dance & sing your heart out! Seventh, grab some Authentic German grub for dinner and park yourself in a bier tent to watch some great entertainment. I highly suggest a plate from Das Schnitzel Haus, some pierogi's from the Pierogi Lady, sauerkraut balls from Hey Hey or a pretzel-wrapped bratwurst. Eighth, make sure you're still drinking beer and take some sips of water in between - you'll appreciate that in the morning. Ninth, grab a partner and get on the dance floor for the chicken dance and some polka! It doesn't matter if you don't know how to polka, you'll pick it quickly or someone will teach you. The Chardon Polka Band, Alex Meixner and Klabetheads are all my favorites! Tenth, take lots of pictures to memorialize this great event! And lastly, get an Uber or have a designated driver to take you home! read more

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I could find NO WATER STATIONS for the hot beer drinking heat stroke risk crowd. Even the first aid station did not have water available. No water fountains that I could find. Food venders were (??out of water and waiting for bottles water delivery by the organizers??) but knew of no water stations. One vender with bottled water had 40 people in line. Another had 16. So I drank from my cupped hands in the bathroom sink. Then went back to the 16 line for four $3 bottles of water for my group. Organizers should lose a suit by anyone suffering heat stroke. Ridiculous. read more

I lived in Germany for 3 years. While this is nowhere near as authentic as the real thing, it's the best reason to get out of your house, drink liters of beer, eat truckloads of schnitzel, and enjoy the company of friends and family! So many things to see, buy, and enjoy, especially since we haven't been able to enjoy events like this for a while now. read more

Got out for a much needed family outing, wife, daughter and myself. Decent food and some good music and great beer and drinks. Will be back but try some different eats. read more

Cleveland Oktoberfest - Festivals Near Me - Berea, Ohio

Wünderbar! The best Oktoberfest around is at the Cuyahoga County (Berea) Fairgrounds every Labor Day weekend! This was only my second year attending, and it's awesome sauce! Plenty of cold bier and tasty food! Tickets are available at the entrance or you can buy them cheaper online at ClevelandOktoberfest.com. They offer a bunch of different ticket packages - single day, two day, 4 day, VIP, etc. You have to buy tickets for beer when you get there. It's 6 tickets for a small beer and tickets are $1. Along with the 4 or 5 German bier offerings available throughout the venue, you'll find a lot of local breweries with stands set up in the gazebo. In addition to the usual fair food, Oktoberfest brings a bunch of food stands set up by local German/Eastern European restaurants like Der Braumeister, Das Schnitzel Haus, Seven Roses, Sterle's, and the like. You'll find schnitzel, chicken paprikash, pierogies, potato pancakes, cabbage rolls, a vast array of sausages, strudel, and the list goes on. I did notice a few barbecue stands this year, including Cleveland's famous Hot Sauce Williams. Some places are cash only, so do keep that in mind. There's also pretzel girls and dudes in lederhosen selling shots roaming about, so keep your eyes peeled. The live music is awesome! The German bands are always great crowd pleasers. Love me some Chicken Dance! Also, this year they had a Journey cover band that really had the crowd going! They did a great job! Check out my video. My favorite part of Oktoberfest is the glockenspiel, which is a little show that goes on every hour by the clock tower. The people go nuts for it! So much fun! You definitely have to check that out. If you haven't been to Cleveland Oktoberfest, be sure to stop by next Labor Day weekend! Prost! read more

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So much fun! Coming from a German heritage, I try to hit up these fests frequently. Last Friday, we hit up the Cleveland Oktoberfest at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea. We got there in the middle of the first day, and man, was it packed! You get tickets for beer. You have the option of several different beers and sizes. The workers are great. The entertainment seems to be happening everywhere, not just at one stage or area. I go for the food and dancing. While there we got a pretzel with beer cheese and of course, sausage and kraut. Food and beer can really stack up in spending if you don't watch it. It's hard because you just want everything from everywhere. The tickets were only $9 if you bought them ahead of time online. Of course we took that up, getting a $3 discount on both tickets. Great fun for a weekend night. Great for families and people who want to just get beer drunk and eat a bunch of sausage, pretzels and pierogies. read more

Cleveland Oktoberfest - Pretzel with beer cheese, dark beer and of course sausage and kraut. - Festivals Near Me - Berea, Ohio

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Spent Labor Day here. Plenty of music, beer and wieners to enjoy and watch. Wiener Dog races are a must see. Get your strudel early before the line is long and flavors limited. Next time I'm going to check on the policy to bring water- a must between beers. Otherwise it's $2 and up a bottle. Buy your entry tickets online to save money. read more

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Wow... Beer...and brats...and sausages...and kraut...and more beer...and drunken guys trying to pee on my shoes... HAPPY OKTOBERFEST!! My wife and I have never been to one of these before, so it was a study in analyzing the situation. The food was purchased, but the drinking was done by drink tickets. It was mostly one or two vendors who had kiosks all over the event for the libations, and the rest was as varied as you could get, from carnival foods like elephant ears to kraut and brats and...yes folks...schnitzel on a stick. It got pricey, but that's the nature of these things and, unless you want to buy a commemorative PLASTIC mug, just get the beer in the throwaways, cause it's cheaper and just as tasty. There was also much oom-paa-ing going on as polka, as expected, was rampant everywhere. Parking was no problem, and folks were very decent...as most were so medicated that all you had to say was "WOOO!" to get them to join in:) It was not a bad time, but next time, remind me to wear my rain boots...:( read more

Cleveland Oktoberfest - My luvvly Wife:) - Festivals Near Me - Berea, Ohio

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I've gone two years in a row now and had a blast both times! The crowd is very lively and fun, and appropriate for all age ranges, from young adult to senior citizens. The prices for everything are on the high end, but worth it for a fun night out. The bands they had both years were engaging with the crowds, which led to long nights of dancing. The food vendors had quite a lot of variety, from typical German food to more modern fare, to the classic carnival food. The way they do the beer is convenient. You show an ID and get a wristband when you're in line for beer and buy tickets for the beer. Also, the beer steins are a really nice plastic and you can take it home! I will continue to come every year. read more

I think this is the most ethnic of all the festivals I go to in the summer. The Irish one being the most phony (and Im Irish for cryin out loud!) This one has great beers, food and music! The Glockenspeil is super fun. I still dont understand why those Krauts love techno (and Hasselhoff) SO much...ugh.. They have weiner dog races and OOmpah bands playing as well. The beer hall is great to sit and down some great Bavarian beers. My only gripe is thats its always hot as balls out and the hall is SUPER loud and smells like an outhouse. Prost! read more

I've been participating in the Bier Run 5k for 3 years. Last year it was raining, but I got my best time yet. My little weiner dogs have been running in the Dachshund races for 2 years. For participating, they get free admission, I get free admission and my family comes out for the rest of the fun. Run 3.1 miles and then grab a cream puff as big as your head, along with a hearty pint of German beer. Hello ethnic food - pierogies, spaetzle, kraut, sausages!!! Plus the usual fair foods, ice cream, french fries, elephant ears and deep fried vegetables! There's mums for sale, musical entertainment, dancers, and crafts shows. One of my favorite events of the summer. read more

Um....is there any other word besides "AWESOME" that can be used to explain this event??? Me thinks not. First-we started off with the 5K Bier run through Berea. Which was the perfect way to prep for a day of beer drinking and German food eating. This was with out a doubt the best way to spend labor day. After we entered and had our beer in hand, we settled down at a nice umbrella covered table outside the traditional hall. This was such a great spot for people watching. When someone asked what I thought of the festivities, I could only say that we don't have people in California that look like this. I really felt as though I was transported into another universe. The universe where big white tennis shoes, perms, acid-wash jeans, white tiger t-shirts, everyone smokes, feathered hair on him and her, go to reside! It was mesmerizing. And to top it off, there was cold beer and sausage! Heaven on Earth, no doubt about it. read more

I think this is my 4th year attending...and while I'll be back, I don't think I ever realized just how pricey it is when you add it all up. I purchased tickets in advance online to save $2/ticket...but here's a breakdown of the rest: $18 for tickets $18 for drink tickets (ended up doing 2 16oz beers and 6 samples) $30 for two sampler platters $10 for two halves of a cheese and apple strudel for my husband $3 for cinnamon sticks for me $10 for two beer slushies (in hindsight we would have not bought drink tickets or gotten food and just had like 5 of these. DELICIOUS.) TOTAL: $89...a pretty pricey night for not so great food. The breweries were good and all in all we had a good time but just be prepared to shell out the cash. read more

I am always skeptical about festivals, they always happen on the hottest days of the year and the beers are outrageously expensive. This was not the case at all! The weather was perfect! I loved the layout of Oktoberfest. After signing up my dog for the wiener dog races we went right to the beer tent. Around 12 different brewery offering Cleveland's best micro brews all in one place?!? How amazing is that? Beers come in all different sizes and types. All of the different German food offerings were great. My potato pancake and perogis were the drunk food I needed to keep going. Every hour there is a little performance at the Glockenspiel, very fun and traditional. The wiener dog races are adorable. So what my puppy was scared and wouldn't leave the starting line?!? She's still adorable and loved the German potato salad. read more

I can check this off my list of events to try out. I guess it's just not my thing. I don't care to pay admission to stand in line to buy beer tickets to then stand in another line to get a beer so then I can stand in line to buy food with hundreds of other people on a 90+ degree early evening. The beer and food were good but I would rather visit their air conditioned restaurants themselves and skip the entrance fee, crazy parking, standing in line, and super crowds. read more

Yeah, it's a bit of a shitshow and it costs more than it should, but if you like beer and central European granny food, this is a pretty good way to close out the summer. Excellent German beer, gratuitous displays of German heritage, wiener dog races, and wonderfully fatty sausages, schnitzel, kraut and other delights... you really can't go wrong. And the people watching is fantastic. read more

The Cleveland Oktoberfest is truly fun for all. Yes it has beer, a lot of beer, but it also has good food and great music. People come from all over the country for this event. We have been going to Oktoberfest for several years now and we have come to love how family friendly it is. There are kids and adults of all ages that attend in part because of the fair food but also the fun music. We have fallen in love with The Alex Meixner Band because they take traditional accordion-style instruments and put a fun twist on Top 40 song favorites. They always pack the giant tent with people and you will see plenty of kids out on the dance floor also. Yes, there are many adults that indulge in the ample amounts of cold beer available (it is a festival after all) so if you bring the kids along you need to be aware of that, but typically this isn't an event that people get too crazy. You don't have to be of German heritage to enjoy this fun festival but if you happen to have Lederhosen in your closet then dust them off and come join the fun!! read more

I love the Berea Oktoberfest, been here probably seven years straight. This year the music sucked in the bier garden but the local drafts were better, so it was a wash. Dog friendly is a plus. read more

We also attended, but only because my daughter was Irish Dancing in the "international" hall. The best part for her were all the dachsund dogs . They were everywhere, most dressed in funny costumes. Her favorite had to be the weenie dog races. The cold beer did look good.....! read more

We get a 4 day pass EVERY year. This is one of my favorite festivals of the year! However, I feel like the Bier run is rather lackluster (ESPECIALLY compared to the one in Columbus!!) read more