GREAT FALLS — Great Falls residents will not have to travel thousands of miles to Munich to experience Oktoberfest this week.
The downtown celebration is expanding to two nights in its third year, beginning with a new Firkin Crawl Thursday, Sept. 24, and continuing with the main Oktoberfest event Friday, Sept. 25.
WATCH Madison Collier's report below:
Organizers said the added day of celebration follows rising attendance in previous years. Dan Morano, an owner of Annie’s Tap House, estimated draft beer pours increased by about 30% last year compared with the event’s first year.
“Looking at the number of pours we did from the draft, it was up about 30% last year from the first year,” Morano said.
Matthias Schalper, an owner of Kellergeist, said the additional night also brings the Great Falls event closer to the German tradition that inspired it.
“Because it’s a whole festival, several days, we thought, ‘Wow, there’s so much excitement, so we may as well do it over several days,’” Schalper said.
The Firkin Crawl will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, and travel between three downtown businesses. At each stop, a wooden keg will be tapped and each will feature a different beer inspired by the tradition.
The crawl will begin at the Celtic Cowboy with Bayern Oktoberfest Lager. It will continue at 6:45 p.m. at Annie’s Tap House with Dragon’s Breath Dark Hefeweizen before ending at 7:30 p.m. at Kellergeist with St. Walter Hefeweizen.
“You get to try three different beers that are freshly in the keg, and it’s a very traditional way to kick off Oktoberfest,” said Peter Jennings, owner of the Celtic Cowboy.
The celebration will feature German food, live music and games, including an official steinholding competition and keg roll. Participating businesses will serve a selection of German beers alongside food such as schnitzel, bratwurst, pretzels, spätzle and red cabbage.
Organizers are also encouraging attendees to embrace the celebration by wearing traditional clothing, including lederhosen and dirndls.
“I was totally, totally surprised the first time when I saw that,” Schalper said. “I would say at least maybe one in four was in full costume.”
Also, Friday night, in partnership with the Celtic Cowboy, the Hotel Arvon will offer an Oktoberfest room special that includes a commemorative glass stein and one complimentary fill.
The trio explained the goal is to build on the event’s success while giving people another opportunity to gather, support downtown businesses, and experience a taste of German tradition in Great Falls.
