October might be German Heritage Month, but greater Cincinnati will be paying homage to the region’s German heritage throughout the month of September.
Oktoberfest season kicks off at the end of August, with various festivals across the region. meetNKY and VisitCincy are sharing a list below to serve as your guide to all things German throughout the month.
Upcoming Events & Festivals:
• Newport’s Oktoberfest – The rich German history doesn’t stop at the northern side of the Ohio River. Newport’s Oktoberfest will have attendees cheering, “Oans, zwoa, drei, gsuffa,” September 13-15 because when it comes to German beer, the options are as diverse and enticing as the country’s cultural heritage.
• Covington Oktoberfest – Returning to Goebel Park September 13-15, join in for a weekend filled with local food, craft vendors, live music, interactive activities, competitions, and Braxton beers that will have attendees saying ‘PROST!’.
• Festzelt at Braxton Brewing – The same weekend in Covington, guests are invited to experience the Festzelt at Braxton Brewing, a traditional German dinner in partnership with Hofbräuhaus at Covington Oktoberfest! For $85 a ticket, guests can indulge in four Bavarian courses and enjoy 2 liters of beer.
• Oktoberfest Zinzinnati – One of the biggest events in the region, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, takes place September 19-22 and had a record 808,300 attendees celebrating the abundant German heritage of Southwest Ohio last year, as the largest Oktoberfest outside of Munich. The festival features events, food and beverage vendors, performances and more.
Year-Round Ways to Celebrate and Enjoy German Heritage:
• Hofbräuhaus – For those looking for German fare and celebrations year-round, Newport’s Hofbräuhaus is a great spot to grab a house-brewed beer, schnitzel with a side of buttered spätzle or würstl.
• Wunderbar! – Covington’s Wunderbar! is a hidden gem that offers an updated daily menu of house-made sausages and other German classics such as sauerkraut and beer cheese and pretzels.
• Tuba Baking Co. – Dayton, Kentucky’s Tuba has a variety of German beers available and a menu with mouth-watering Laugenbrezels with beer cheese, currywurst, spätzle and a variety of other American-German mashup dishes.
• Mainstrasse Village – Mainstrasse Village in Covington was developed in the 1970s as a restored 19th-century German village. The Germen-gothic Carroll Chimes Bell Tower stands tall in the heart of Mainstrasse, which the Goose Girl Fountain also calls home, where it features a large basin topped by a German girl carrying geese to market based on the Grimm’s Brothers “Goose Girl” fairy tale.
• Germania Society of Cincinnati – The Germania Society encourages all who share their affinity for German culture to join and aid in their mission to maintain and perpetuate German Heritage in the Cincy Region. They host Oktoberfest and Christkindlmarkt annually along with semi-annual Volksmarches in the Spring and Fall.
• The German Pioneer Heritage Museum – This museum serves as the focal point in presenting and displaying German-American culture and is a testament to the many contributions German immigrants and their descendants have made toward the building of the Ohio Valley and America. The museum focuses especially on representing the long history of German-Americans in the Greater Cincinnati area, which became, and remains one of the major German-American centers in the United States.
meetNKY and VisitCincy