09/02/2026
IT STARTED IN A PARKING LOT. 🇩🇪🍺
Oktoberfest was never just a theme for us.. It’s our heritage.
Back in 2011, Kegel’s Inn Oktoberfest was a small celebration in the parking lot at Kegel’s Inn. Then Milwaukee showed up!
By 2018, the celebration had grown across our entire campus and eventually spilled onto three blocks of National Avenue.
Then came 2020. COVID forced us to rethink everything. From 2020–2023, Oktoberfest found a new home at the War Memorial Center, where we partnered with Swarmm Events and started dreaming about what this festival could become.
In 2024, we took another leap — bringing Milwaukee Oktoberfest to Cathedral Square. And Milwaukee kept showing up. So did the challenges. Bigger crowds meant building kitchens, bars, power, water, bathrooms and an entire festival infrastructure from the ground up.
Then the opportunity came to move to Henry Maier Festival Park.
Permanent kitchens. Power. Running water. Real bathrooms. Room to grow.
And Hofbräu beer!
For the first time, Milwaukee Oktoberfest had a home built to grow with it.
But there was something even more special about that home. Henry Maier traveled to Germany, experienced Oktoberfest firsthand, and returned inspired by the idea of creating a permanent festival home for Milwaukee.
Now, we’re honored to help carry that vision forward.
From a parking lot in 2011 to Henry Maier Festival Park in 2026.
A lot has changed. But one thing hasn’t:
Oktoberfest is for everybody!
You don’t need German grandparents.
You don’t need lederhosen.
You don’t even need to know the words to Ein Prosit.
At Milwaukee Oktoberfest, everybody gets to be a little German.
No passport required. 🇩🇪
October 2–4, 2026
📍 Henry Maier Festival Park
🍺 Milwaukee Oktoberfest
We’ve been building this thing for 15 years.
Now let’s raise a glass to where it’s going.
Prost! 🍻