Not sure who the event planners are, but this was not a good experience! I drove all the way from Dallas and really wish I would've have! Overcrowded, long and painful lines to get anything only to have to stand to eat and drink! Not nearly enough seating. Overpriced beer and food, not nearly enough authentic German crafts or items for sale. I would strongly suggest new event planners for next year and possibly a bigger area like the fairgrounds! Lower entry fees would have been nice as well given the terrible accommodations for seating while there trying to eat and listen to the bands! Never again! read more

If you're coming to this event, I highly recommend that you purchase the wristbands online in advance, that way you can pay by credit card. If you don't, you'll have the pleasure of standing in long lines to get them, and you'll pay a little more. Supposedly, there is a limited number of wristbands, but they were still selling them minutes before they let everyone in on Friday. All food and beverages must be purchased with tickets and you must purchase those tickets with cash only. If you plan on drinking and eating within the confines I'd recommend purchasing about $60-$100 worth of tickets for two people. I did spot numerous ATMs ($4 fee) around the grounds in case you forgot your money. Keep in mind the Saturday event is all day, but you can't get in to the grounds on Friday until 6 PM. We got lucky with a cold front that came in the day before, but you probably will need sunglasses, hat, and sunscreen otherwise. Be forewarned, the food prices are quite high, for example, a sausage wrap is $10 and a burger is $13. A 12oz beer starts at $6 and $8 for imports. I have to admit I was quite impressed with the very large selection of beers offered. Those tickets go fast, we blew through $60 worth of tickets in the first half hour only to buy $40 more. The best deal that we found was the wood fired pizza for 12 tickets. This place is more than just beer, overpriced mediocre unhealthy food and oompah music, there is also a section for local artisans and a children's area. Lots of porta potties and non-metered parking in the area. By 8pm it's dark and it's a crowded fun place. If you haven't experienced this, I suggest it as a great first time experience and regular attendees sometimes bring a blanket or foldout chairs. read more

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Had a great time at Oktoberfest this year! Some tips for newcomers to the event: most food and beverage vendors use tickets for purchases. Tickets and admissions at the gate can only be purchased with cash. They do have a couple ATMs on site but would highly suggest bringing cash and at least about $20 a person for food and beverages. There are a lot of fun activities for kids and adults so its a great event for families. Service animals are allowed but not pets. read more

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Park and ride sucks! Waired 40mins to get to event and then even longer to get back 30 bucks! Will not recommend to anyone! read more

We went on a Friday night after reading that Saturday is the most crowded day of the Friday, Saturday and Sunday annual festival. Friday is indeed less crowded. In fact, we were able to go up to the beer and food ticket booth, with only one person in front of us. Then, the beer and food lines quickly served their offerings! And there was quite a variety. The only downside to the evening was the entry ticket booth. Getting in was such a slow process, with the ticket booth workers seemingly like sloths. It...was...a...slow...process that could have used much improvement. A four star rather than five star for this cumbersome hiccup. read more

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Last weekend drove to Oktoberfest for OKTOBERFEST which is the first weekend celebration of every October. Below is the info from their website: OKTOBERFEST is a colorful, festive celebration of Fredericksburg, Texas' German heritage. OKTOBERFEST has become an annual tradition around the world. OKTOBERFEST is a community event of family entertainment featuring two stages and two tents with continuous oompah music, art & crafts, Children's fun area ~ Kinder Park, a German Bier Tent, and Oktoberfest Vineyard area, plus delicious food and drink ... all weekend long! And I felt it's not worth it at all. They charged $6 for admission. Who wants to pay to get in a garden to purchase OK beer and junk food. I don't drink, so I just watched people getting drunk there. And food is bad, all cheap state fair style of food. They will charge $5 for a sausage. I don't know how German sausage tastes like. But it tastes like HEB sausage to me. The only fun part is I learned how to dance "Chicken dance". That was funny. read more

Oktoberfest - Festivals Near Me - Fredericksburg, Texas

Went on the last day - not too much kids stuff but at least you got a prize with every try at the games. There was a couple music choices and a variety of food. Food I had was good but it was $12 for a brat with kraut and $3 for a can of soda and $5 for a lemonade or tea. Maybe I'm just old now, damn that's expensive after $10 entrance fee. read more

We had a great time! It started off great by catching the shuttle to downtown from the fairgrounds. It only cost $3 for both ways. And it's worth not having the stress of parking downtown. No lines for The shuttle either, and no long waits for it to take off and return. It lets you off right in front. We got there at 11:00 on Saturday. But it opened at 10:00 am. Next year we will get there then. It wasn't too crowed at that time. But by the time we left it was getting packed. They had a great selection of beers. Craft, regular brands and a great selection of German beers that we really enjoyed. They also had wine and Bellinis. Great selection of Oktoberfest food. Potato pancakes, bratwurst and sausages with sauerkraut. Yummy. We got a German style pizza and it was really yummy. Can't wait to go next year. read more

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We had a great time! The shuttle from the fairgrounds is only $3 and it takes all the hassle out of parking and getting out of town when you're ready to go. We got there at 11 and the crowds were small and we got to walk around and check out the whole place before the crowds got huge. Next year we'll try to get there when they open at 10, since it's really great with no crowd. They had a very large selection of beers, including some German beers I hadn't had before. Not a bad one in the bunch! For the most part, the domestic beers were $4 and the imports were $6. They also had wine, so how's that for being accommodating? The food was the usual Oktoberfest fare, but it was good and hot and greasy and just what we were wanting. The pizza was really good and a treat after so many fried things. Great music, good food and drink and the people were friendly and everyone was having a good time. Have to make this an annual event on our calendar. read more

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What's not to like about an Oktoberfest. Entry fee is $8.00 per person, which isn't too bad, I have paid much more. The price for beer is either $5.00 for middle of the road beers and $7.00 for German beers, which seems a little high, especially since you get them in a little plastic cup. Music, food and atmosphere are fantastic. We try to go here every year and if not in the area we go to the closest one to where we happen to be. read more

Oktoberfest - Oktoberfest Fredericksburg - Festivals Near Me - Fredericksburg, Texas

Top Ten Reasons Why Oktoberfest Fredericksburg Is Worth The Trip... In no particular order. Beer Brats Schnitzel Live Music (Go Walburg Boys!) Girls in Dirndles Food on sticks Turkey legs Funnel cake Beer Geriatric dancers This year boasted a great line up of craft beers in addition to the already stellar selection of German brews. Entry fees are nominal. Food is a bit on the high side, but choose wisely and you can get value. Sausages from Opa's and some damned good potato pancakes await. Craft beers were 4 tickets (4 bucks). Lines were never outrageous for drinks or food. Live music on two stages, plenty of dancing (with the obligatory Chicken Dance), and some of the best people watching. Don't hesitate. Make plans for next year! Did I mention the girls in Dirndles? read more

I love Oktoberfest in general. I could spend days eating sausages and listening to polka bands play. That may be why I enjoy going out to Fredricksburg each year for their Oktoberfest celebration. They have 4 stages of music throughout the relatively small Marketplatz. I think 3 out of the 4 usually house Polka bands. I hear other music coming from the biggest tent, but I didn't come to Oktoberfest to hear "Don't Stop Believing", I came to hear "Ein Prosit", so I avoid the big tent. They have a nice food area with a bunch of various sausages and schnitzel things to munch on. Potato pancakes and sauerkraut are also available, of course. There are a few various areas to get beers and even some wine and whatnot as well. There are also a bunch of vendors around selling things, if you are in the mood to shop. If you need your own Lederhosen, make sure you swing into the German clothing shop (I'd highly recommend getting some... they are comfy and awesome!). This Oktoberfest is also really kid friendly. There is a huge playground right next to one of the stages (which also houses a beer stand), so parents can sit and relax while the kids run around on the playground. The only downside to this is that the playground is pretty dusty... so be prepared for that. So essentially, if you are looking to get your Oktoberfest fix you should head out to Fredricksburg. It's not as big and crazy as Wurstfest, but it is still a ton of fun. It's super kid friendly, and it's really relaxing. What's not to love about that? read more

I had a really fun time at Frederickburg's Oktoberfest this weekend! It was a well run event and not as expensive as it could have been. What It Will Cost You: $6 adult admission (Less for kids) $3 domestics/$6 German imports $4-10 food items What I liked: -Not too crowded on Sunday--we found a free parking spot 2 blocks away -Lots of clean portapotties and no lines to use them! -$3 for domestics (including Texas beers, Sam Adams, St. Arnold's) is pretty affordable. $6 for a German import is a little steep, but is less than a Bud Light at the Erwin Center...so...not bad for a big event. -The volunteers who run the show were so friendly -I didn't see anyone who was obviously/annoyingly intoxicated -The potato pancakes were out of this world! $6 for 2 delicious pancakes and a half link (still plenty) of sausage. They were worth the wait--the only line we stood in What I Disliked: -ticket system--I hate when you have to buy tickets to then purchase food and drink Neither Liked Nor Disliked: -all told, we (two people) probably spent about $50, plus the gas to get out there. Not a cheap thing to do, but we had a great time and felt like it was money well spent. Pro tip: Sunday afternoon seemed like a great time to enjoy the festival. I imagine Saturday is a lot more crowded and there's probably a lot more drunks. read more

While visiting friends in San Antonio my wife and I decided to take the hour long drive to check it out. I'd heard it was one of the better Oktoberfest's. While it's a nice little festival, I was expecting something larger with a bit more German feel. It was also very disorganized in terms of entry on Friday. They didn't seem to know what lines people were supposed to be in based on pre-purchased tickets. The people were certainly nice. Overall, I wouldn't go again. In fairness, being from the Midwest where we have a lot of good German beer gardens and celebrations, I'm probably a bit spoiled. read more

To enjoy Oktoberfest without the lines and extremely packed conditions come on Friday or when they first open on Saturday. I wish we would have come on Friday, but glad we went early Saturday. There were lines early, but not as bad as when we left later in the afternoon. Take cash to purchase tickets. If you don't mind walking, we found plenty of parking near the Safeway. The food was actually good. They use local vendor Opa's Smoked Meats for the sausage. For a festival the best sauerkraut and sausage I have had. There are different beers available amongst the different tents laid out. I liked that they also had cider options. They had some nice local arts and crafts vendors to explore while you were sipping on your drink. Everyone is so friendly that if you cannot find a table, we had someone make room with their group for my friend and I to sit. The German music and festivities all adds to the fun atmosphere. Just be prepared for crowds, being patient to wait in some lines, and have a great day. It is best on Friday though if you don't like overwhelming crowds of people. read more

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Friday night opening up the 2016 Oktoberfest! This was great fun! We ate, drank, and laughed & ate, drank and laughed all night! People watching was at it's best here! The German outfits are beautiful and most wire them well. A few risqué but that adds to the people watching! Handicrafts in two tents with some very nice artisans returning every year. Baskets bought, woodwork and of course baked goods. Dancing and music in several areas gave variety to where you could sit and enjoy time and more people watching. Good folk worked hard to put this on year after year. We talked with quite a few nice people. Food stands abound in German fare along with festival foods. Funnel cake, potato pancakes always a good chioce, beers galore, frozen wines are slurpees on steroids, german pizzas were amazing. read more

More fun than a barrel of monkeys. Get into the spirit of the event, with hard to find Czech and German bands and ( no bs) 65 different beers onTap. Volunteer run event, too. read more

My boyfriend and I had never been to Oktoberfest and we've been wanting to go since last year but weren't able to. We decided to go alone, not with a group, because we just wanted to have a fun weekend together. They really get so organized, they have a couple of parking places away from the Main St. and buses that take you right to the entrance of the festival. We paid $5 each for the parking, then $8 each for the entrance, and then we had to buy tickets because they weren't accepting cash or debit/credit cards. It was a little pricey and a little annoying that you had to buy tickets to get anything inside but I get it, it's business and it's something that you don't do every weekend. They had a couple of different beers inside but I wish they had more variety. I did get a couple of beers that I never had before and I really liked. For lunch we had turkey legs and some sausage on a stick, very delicious, although a little expensive. Overall we had a great time walking around the different shops, listening to the bands, and watching the people dance. read more

Oktoberfest - Festivals Near Me - Fredericksburg, Texas

What a nightmare. We we hoping for a nice stroll through sipping a beer and maybe grabbing a snack like similar festivities we've been to in Europe. Not only was there no where to sit, not only was the line to get into the area so long it went well around the block, it was so bad, we just walked by and went elsewhere. Sorry, we're not waiting in a line for longer than we intended to even stay, just for the privilege of buying overpriced beverages and standing the entire time. We'll be avoiding the city in general from now on during such festivities. read more

The Polka music moved me and will move you too. Really, they encourage you to do the chicken dance. I had never been to Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg and decided to go with my husband, my sister, her boyfriend, and my nephew. It took about an hour and a half to get there, although the line went to the end of the block while the sun beat down on us, it moved fairly quickly. Admission is $6 for adults and $1 for kids. It was family friendly, had the minimal requirements for arts and crafts in these kind of festivals, food, food, food, and beer. However, once you arrive, currency as we know it is not as accepted. Need food? Get blue tickets. Need beer? Get yellow tickets. Need to play kid games? Get white tickets. Want nuts- okay, they do use our American currency and will exchange the most delicious cinnamon covered nuts for about $9.00 that are completely worth having anaphylactic shock if you have a nut allergy. Other than that, it really was just something to do, unless you really do love Polka music. Even if you loathe the accordion, it is not so overwhelming that you go crazy. I would suggest to go an hour or two before the shops close in the town, walk around, shop, and once it cools down, go into the festival. I think I would rather just drink in town and have some wine or beer and experience the food in their regular restaurants for under $20 per person, (because you will spend more than $20 per person in the festival- you need the souvenir hat to fit in) but definitely go at least once in your life- oh and try the lemonade that is squeezed by hand in front of you- It really is good! read more

One of the best festivals I have attended, the dance areas were spacious, the stages were spread out, so as not to overlap soundwise, the pedestrian trails were varied, not one long one, enabling folks to move about with ease in the crowd, yes, there was a ton of folks, but as a reporter I was able to move around quickly. Could have used a few more water booths. Music was superb and the crowd was the most ethnically diverse I've seen., which is a good thing. Parking was tolerable. Staff was great. Beer was a little pricey. The Saturday morning public chicken dance on the sidewalk was much fun. Can't wait to return. gary e. mckee editor/photojournalist Texas Polka News www.polkabeat.com read more

While it isn't Munich, Germany it wasn't too bad. The mistake we made is that we went on Saturday during peak times in Fredricksburg. Parking was hard to find, in fact we ended up in a back parking lot behind a closed establishment. Our car was still there at the end of it all so that was a good thing. Overall, this is something to try if you've never been to any German celebration. It was busier than I thought it would have been. From last years photos on the website, I got the perception it was a sleepy little event that no one knew about. I was wrong. Like any festival the food lines were long; I like the concept of keeping it in the pavillion however with the long lines it made it difficult of where to stand while waiting for you delicious sausage on a stick. I will say they had a couple of beers that I've never had before, which is hard for me because I've tried almost every beer I could get my hands on in the surrounding area. So thank you Oktoberfest in Fredricksburg, TX. The is a kiddie area that seemed fun if I were 5-10yrs of age. The craft area was a bit small, only a couple of tents. The beer areas were jammed pack. The food area was ok; not a lot of authentic German cuisine. I guess I just need to go to a German restaurant for that kind of fare. The Sam Adams Oktoberfest booth was fun to watch. They had a contest on who could hold up a giant glass o'beer. read more

Great time in downtown Fredericksburg TX! Chicken dance performed by everyone that lined the streets was fun and awesome to see. The place to be every October, romantic and fun. read more

My family and I have been going to Oktoberfest every year for about 10 years. In the past, it was a fun time for adults and kids alike. Every year, the "Kinderpark" gets smaller and smaller. This year it was probably 1/2 the size it was last year and they now allow beer in the kinderpark. I watched as a drunk stumbled in and flopped down on the inflatable climbing wall and some guy with 4 cups of beer spilled some on my 2 year old daughter. I know it's Oktoberfest and the beer flows free, but we were in the kids area. It is fenced off from the rest of the grounds, but now I wonder why the fence. It's not to keep the drunks out or the beer, so what's it for? read more

Isabelle, don't go to Oktoberfest anywhere in the world if you don't drink beer. Sure the food isn't five star quality, but that's what the beer is for. As far as the beer being just " OK ".....You don't drink! The American beer is OK with exception to the Micro Brew, but there is plenty of good German brew. Yeah the park grounds aren't much but the overall experience is what everyone makes of it. If any of you decide to go, get a nice B & B, spend a romantic night there with a loved one. Go watch football at the Fredericksburg Brewery Bier Garden and knock out some Christmas shopping....And drink some beer at the festival at night! read more