Missoula’s Oktoberfest Season Is About to Get Busy
If you love German food, music, beer, and a good excuse to raise a stein, you're going to have plenty of opportunities this fall.
Celebrate German Heritage in Montana
Montana has a strong German heritage. In fact, German ancestry is the most commonly reported ancestry in the state. So when you have a German brewer like Jürgen Noller and Bayern Brewing right here in Missoula, it only makes sense to celebrate Oktoberfest in a big way.
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Oktoberfest: More Than Just One Day
Missoula is getting in on the tradition with three Oktoberfest celebrations in 2026, all presented by Bayern Brewing.
The dates to mark on your calendar are:
- Friday, September 18
- Friday, September 25
- Friday, October 2
Authentic Cuisine and Festive Music Await
Each evening at Bayern will feature Oktoberfest celebrations, authentic German cuisine, and music.
Get Competitive: Montana State Stein Holding Championships
Arts Missoula will also offer two evenings of qualifying rounds for the Montana State Stein Holding Championships. Think you're strong enough to hold a full stein longer than everyone else? This is your chance to prove it.
Join Us for GermanFest in Downtown Missoula
Then, the big one is coming up on Saturday, October 3, at Caras Park.
That's when Arts Missoula's GermanFest takes over downtown Missoula from 12 p.m.-9 p.m., presented by Bayern Brewing and Arts Missoula.
The Montana State Stein Holding Championship finals will take place that night, too. So if you've made it through the qualifying rounds, this is where you'll have to bring your A-game.
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There's even more on the line for the winner. The Montana State champion will get the opportunity to head to Cincinnati for the national stein-holding competition.
A Thriving Season of German Celebrations
September and October are going to be pretty busy around Missoula when it comes to celebrating German culture.
You've got Oktoberfests on September 18, September 25 and October 2, followed immediately by GermanFest at Caras Park on October 3.
That's a whole lot of German food, music, celebrations and stein holding coming our way.
So start practicing those arm muscles now.
Missoula is getting ready for one very busy German celebration season.
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