Photo via SWARMM
Milwaukee Oktoberfest
Beer hoisting at Milwaukee Oktoberfest
Prost! Get ready for brats, beers, pretzels, and good old-fashioned polka music. Milwaukee Oktoberfest, held on Fitch Plaza at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, returns to the city September 24 through 26.
Hosted by Kegel’s Inn for its second consecutive year, the event is a fundraiser for the War Memorial Center. This year, Kegel’s and the War Memorial Center has partnered with Oktoberfest veterans Swarmm Events, a company which has hosted the events in previous years at Milwaukee’s Deer District and Pere Marquette Park.
According to Kegel’s Inn owner and operator Julian Kegel, the restaurant prides itself on working with Swarmm to offer visitors an “authentic” Oktoberfest experience. “We want to provide a premier Oktoberfest experience for the region,” he added.
Besides loaded brats and pretzels, Kegel’s Inn will serve Austrian goulash over egg noodles. “My grandma had the recipe for 97 years,” Kegel noted. The restaurant will serve German beers from local breweries, including Hofbrau and Hacker Pschorr and various Oktoberfest brews, from its 1957 Grumm-Olson step van.
Visitors can browse vendor booths, watch the annual Miss Oktoberfest and wiener dog pageants, and participate in a stein-hoisting competition and bags tournament. Live music from the Polka Floyd show, Blaskapelle and the Copper Box will keep the party going.
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Oktoberfest general admission is free, with the option for attendees 21 and over to purchase a $5 wristband to imbibe alcohol. VIP tickets, which include a liter of beer, a pretzel or brat, a VIP lanyard, a VIP tour of the war memorial, and parking, are now available for $45.
The outdoor event allows plenty of room to social distance. Tables are spaced well apart, and the War Memorial building frequently undergoes COVID-19 sanitation procedures. “We feel great about our safety protocols,” Kegel added.
Daniel Buttery, President and CEO of the War Memorial Center, said in a recent press release that the Kegel’s Inn and Swarmm Events collaboration “is a perfect example of the community coming together in support of one of Wisconsin’s iconic institutions as we support our mission: Honor the Dead, Serve the Living.”
For more information, visit www.milwaukeeoktoberfest.com.
