Oktoberfest in Truckee

Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival held annually in Munich, which is the capital and the largest City in the German state of Bavaria. The festival typically runs from late September to the first weekend in October. 

It is one of the most famous events in Germany, and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year according to Wikipedia. Other cities around the world have modeled their Oktoberfest celebrations after the Munich event.

I was actually born in Augsberg, Germany as a U.S. Military dependant, and actually have a German Birth Certificate written in German. And my kids, Ryan and Brie, are half German...with a last name of STORZ. Their claim to fame is they are distant Storz relatives to the owners of the Storz Chocolate Factory in Germany. The only place that I've found the amazing Chocolates here in the U.S. is at Cost Plus.

Above is a picture that I took from the 2011 Oktoberfest event at the Village at Squaw Valley, in Olympic Valley. It was such a fun event!

2024 Oktoberfest Events

Oktoberfest at the Village at Palisades Tahoe:

• Date: TBA
• Time: TBA
• Where: The Village at Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley
• What: TBA
• Cost: TBA
• Fundraiser for: TBA

Keg Racing at the 2011 Oktoberfest event at the Village at Squaw Valley, in Olympic Valley

Tahoe City Oktoberfest:

• Date: TBA
• Time: TBA
• Where: Held at the Gatekeepers Museum / William B. Layton Park in Tahoe City
• What: Tahoe City Oktoberfest - Oktoberfest with live music, activities for the kids and German Food and Beer.

Traditional Bavarian Music and Folk Dancers at the 2011 Oktoberfest event at the Village at Squaw Valley, in Olympic Valley.

Oktoberfest at Camp Richardson: 

• Date: TBA
• Time: TBA
• Where: Camp Richardson at South Lake Tahoe (1900 Jameson Beach Road)
  
• What: The annual festival will offer two full days of family fun, great food and hand-crafted items. Admission and Parking are free. Kids – big or small – can search for the perfect pumpkin at the festival’s pumpkin patch. The entire family will enjoy events especially geared to children, including games for all age groups, from the Bouncy Castle, to face painting. Adults can enjoy the Beer and Wine Garden, offering a variety of great beer and wines. Guests will also find the best of German cuisine, bockwurst, knackwurst, bratwurst, polish dogs as well as traditional German desserts. Contact - Camp Richardson Resort
  at (800) 544-1801.

German Beer Steins

Pictured above is about half of my parents' German Stein Collection that they bought in Germany while my Dad was stationed in Augsberg, Germany in 1956 -1959. They said that locals would come around and knock on their door, and sell them for about $5/each. (These are the ones made in Germany with typically Pewter lids and not the reproductions)