Milwaukee Oktoberfest Relocating in 2025
Move to Summerfest grounds marks major growth for the autumn festival.
QuinnDombrowski (CC-BY-SA)
After several years of downtown celebrations, Milwaukee Oktoberfest is rolling the barrel to the lakefront. The 2025 festival will take place at Henry Maier Festival Park, marking continued growth for the popular autumn event.
Kegel’s Inn, Swarmm Events and Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. are partnering for the event, which outgrew its previous home at Cathedral Square Park.
“This festival belongs to the people of Milwaukee,” said Julian Kegel, owner of Kegel’s Inn, in a statement. “We’ve poured our hearts into German hospitality at Kegel’s Inn for almost a century, and now we’re taking that spirit to the lakefront.”
The move will not only allow for greater attendance and expanded entertainment, but also the opportunity to measure up to similar celebrations across the region, said Swarmm Events owner Michael Sampson.
“The permanent festival grounds provide an amazing opportunity for growth to give Milwaukee an Oktoberfest celebration on par with others held in the Midwest like Cincinnati and St. Louis, which attract hundreds of thousands of visitors annually,” said Sampson.
Now in its 15th year, Milwaukee Oktoberfest will take place Oct. 3 through 5, featuring imported German beers and authentic food from Kegel’s, as well as live music, games and family-friendly entertainment.
It’s not the festival’s first trip to the lakefront. Kegel’s hosted an Oktoberfest celebration from 2020 through 2022 at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center.
The new location — fresh off hosting nine days of Summerfest — fulfills a decades-old vision from its namesake. In 1970, then-mayor Henry Maier helped transform the former Maitland Airport into permanent festival grounds, reportedly drawing inspiration from Munich’s legendary Oktoberfest.
Like previous installments, the 2025 Oktoberfest will center on imported beer such as Hofbrau, Hacker-Pschorr and Paulaner, along with German styles from local craft beer breweries. Non-alcoholic beverages, wine, spirits and Jagermeister cocktails will also be available.
Beyond brews, attendees can expect a lineup of traditional bands, German cultural performances and folk music across multiple stages — plus a vendor market, hammerschlagen, stein-hoisting contests, a Miss Oktoberfest competition and a wiener dog beauty pageant.
New this year, the festival is accepting reservations for the main, covered Oktoberfest stage. The 2025 event is ticketed, with $6 early bird passes available now.
“Our dream is to build a space where neighbors, newcomers, and generations of families can raise a stein together — not just to celebrate Oktoberfest, but to celebrate each other,” Kegel said.
Volunteer opportunities and vendor applications will be available at www.milwaukeeoktoberfest.com
Hours for the festival will be Friday, Oct. 3 from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 4 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 5 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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This sucks. Cathedral Square was a great location.