Triangle Oktoberfest

The largest Oktoberfest in the Triangle, running two days at Koka Booth Amphitheatre with Bavarian food, seasonal beer and the full complement of competitive nonsense.

What is on:

• Seasonal and German-style beer
• Bavarian food
• Live music across both days
• Stein-holding competitions
• Dachshund races
• Children's activities

Children 15 and under have gone free in previous years, which turns this from an adults-only evening into something a family can reasonably do on the Saturday afternoon. Adult tickets start around $20.

The two days have different characters and it is worth choosing deliberately:

• Friday 5 to 10 p.m. is the evening version, busier and louder later on
• Saturday noon to 8 p.m. is the family-friendly one, with the afternoon considerably calmer than the evening

Stein-holding is harder than it looks and worth watching for that reason. A full liter stein held at arm's length defeats most people inside two minutes, and the competitive entrants are usually the ones nobody expected.

Koka Booth has on-site parking that fills early for this. For anyone driving over from Wake Forest, the far side of Cary on a Friday evening is a genuine trek, so the Saturday is the easier proposition.

Koka Booth is an amphitheater built into woodland, so the setting does more work than a festival field would. Bring something to sit on for the lawn, and be aware that the walk from the furthest parking to the gate is longer than it looks on a map.