Blink and you’ll have missed September, which means one of the biggest area events of the fall is rapidly approaching.
The Elkhorn Area Chamber of Commerce is getting ready to host Oktoberfest Saturday, Oct. 15, in downtown Elkhorn in Veterans Park.
The event will feature craft and draft beers, wine and numerous different food trucks to provide that traditional October festival experience.
Depending on the weather, Kate Abbe – the chamber’s partner engagement and marketing coordinator – said downtown Elkhorn could see anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 for the single-day event.
“We saw incredible numbers in 2021,” Abbe said, adding that coming off the pandemic year was an added bonus.
“We never know if we’ll see those numbers grow,” she added. “We’re always hopeful that people have such a great time they can’t wait to come back.”
New this year at Oktoberfest will be sale of beer and wine in the park. The chamber worked with both the City of Elkhorn and Walworth County to get the one-day alcohol ordinance changed, so that numerous different vendors could be spread out along the route
Wisconsin and Walworth streets will be closed for the event and there will be craft beer and wine tasting taking place in park.
The chamber got a trial run with how it would be at the Truck and Shuck Festival in July, and Abbe said it went pretty well.
“It was a great run-through of having a satellite bar in the park,” she said.
The main Oktoberfest tents will be in the middle of the intersections like last year, at Wisconsin and Walworth, which will be all of the draft beer.
Among the draft beers will be Hacker Pschorr Octoberfest, Hacker Pschorr Munich, Hofbrau Octoberfest, Sam Adams Octoberfest and Topsy Octoberfest.
Craft beers will include City Lights Hazy IPA, Lakefront Eastside Dark, Cider Boys First Press, Leinenkugel’s Juicy Peach and the Great Dane Pilsner.
There will be additional German beer and wine tasting in the park, and an “around the town” tasting experience at various downtown businesses.
In addition to the adult beverage, the Elkhorn Lions Club will host a cornhole tournament, $15 per person or $30 per team.
If interested in vendor space, sponsoring a spot or volunteering, contact Abbe 262-723-5788 or email her at kate@elkhornchamber.com.
For the full story, please see the print edition of the Elkhorn Independent.
