German Park Oktoberfest

The German-American Klub put on another wonderful festival again this year. The weather was absolutely perfect and the place was packed all weekend. The festival was Thursday Friday and Saturday September 5-7 2024. My recommendation is.... Get there early! The desserts sold out each night and the lines can get very long. All of the food we tried were great. I love the potato pancakes with a little applesauce on them. So good! There were live bands playing near the restaurant and another German band playing in the pavilion. There was also traditional dancing in the pavilion. All of the food and beverages stands take tickets only. So you buy tickets for $1 each at a tent and then buy the food or drinks that you want. Admission was $5 a person.

I'm exhausted. Why, you ask? Having just returned from a relaxing day in the tranquility of Southside Indy's German Park at Oktoberfest, how could I possibly be exhausted?How could I not be?Oktoberfest is an annual event sponsored by the German American Klub of Indianapolis, a non-profit organization celebrating German culture and offering a variety of social and educational opportunities. I'm not quite sure if everything located here operates under one organizational umbrella, but there's German Park, Edelweiss Restaurant and various other clubs/groups that seem to use the park. I am, for this review, only reviewing Oktoberfest itself and, in my case, only the 2016 event. As you drive into German Park, to your left was a modest sized amusement park area with a few rides. There was some parking there, but most going to Oktoberfest continued on the right. Admission into Oktoberfest was $5 and did include parking. Once you paid, you were handed a small ticket that you immediately gave to the next person ahead so you could park. Once you reached the second person, immediately to your right was a small handicapped parking area - it was clearly labeled handicapped parking, but spots were in a grassy area and not even remotely close to accessible (especially considering yesterday's rain). I was able to maneuver it, but anyone with upper body weakness would have struggled. For those without a disability, parking was a little more up the road toward Edelweiss. Immediately across from handicapped parking, you had an entry across a gravel path toward two stages, one a main "popular music" area and one featuring more traditional German fare. This area also featured a few vendors for food, drink, pastries and, of course, beer (mostly Warsteiner). There were multiple "ticket" booths - everything, except for a couple vendors and Edelweiss, required tickets rather than actual cash. Each ticket was $1 and items ranged from $2 for a hot dog to up to $6-7 for some of the fancier German sandwiches and $6 or more for the beers if you wanted a "boot" you could keep. In addition to the food costing tickets, there was a bounce house area that required tickets, tickets for all the rides, and a cost for even such basics as face painting and $1 for making a button. There was a balloon vendor handing out balloon creations for free.Quite honestly, it all struck me as a stunningly crass fundraiser for the German American Klub that lacked anything resembling authenticity. The music, on the other hand as free to listen to, though I found it interesting that they had the popular music amplified louder than the German music. I dunno. There's something weird about attending Oktoberfest and hearing a cover band do Alabama Shakes. There were some people dressed in authentic German garb. There was music provided by Indianapolis Liederkranz's brass band, while Alpine Express actually was impressive and got some folks up and dancing - that was the actual highlight. The festival itself was about as authentic to Germany as Oscar Mayer is to bologna. In case you're wondering, that's not very authentic. There were more volunteers dressed in Colts garb than in anything German. While the parking folks were perfectly friendly, I was pretty amazed at the lack of a welcoming vibe. I tried a hot dog - it was standard issue. I bought a piece of chocolate cake (3 tickets) - it was a plain piece of cake - exactly what I wanted, but before I could say anything they added cherries and whipped cream on it and ruined it. Truthfully, it ticked me off. Why would you add something without asking the customer first?They didn't have iced tea - they had beer, soft drinks (pepsi products), lemonade (a pepsi product), and water. I grabbed a lemonade (3 more tickets) - there was no attempt to even try for authenticity - It was Brisk Lemonade in a bottle. In order to access Edelweiss, I'd have had to either climb up several steep stairs through the lower area or leave the lower area and wheel up through the parking lot - again, not even close to wheelchair friendly. If you're in a wheelchair, I'll warn you up front do NOT attend this event alone.The park itself is beautiful. I appreciated the consideration for handicapped parking, even though the area itself fell far short of accessible. I also did see accessible port-a-potties. Ultimately, while I enjoyed myself with friends we pretty much all left after a couple hours with a "been there, done that" attitude and a sense that it wasn't really worth the time. Overpriced and lacking in authenticity, I had to chuckle as I sat down to write the review that even the name of the event on Yelp is misspelled. That really says it all (though I will note that I've already turned in an update to correct the spelling).

I enjoy this festival because the location, food, musik and bier are all pretty damn good.The location is in the tranquil German Park. This sylvan setting is quite lovely this time of year and I really enjoy the meandering paths through the grounds.The food is a nice variety of sausages (brat and knockwurst) with some roast pork with German sides in the tented areas. Those sausages being provided and often cooked personally by the German Sausage King of Indy, Claus Muth of Claus' German Meats. The wonderful little Edelweiss shall provide you with schnitzel and other Deutche delicacies that might not be found in the other food areas.There are two stages playing a good variety of polka. Throw in some soul-blues-funk and even the polka haters will be content. I LOVE polka, so you can keep the cover bands. I can go to any bar on any Saturday and hear a cover band.The bier is pretty much only Warsteiner (and some Ameri-crap) around the grounds until you make your way up to Edelweiss. They have a VERY nice bottle selection outside for you to purchase with tickets or you can go inside and order from a slightly more exciting tap list which includes Hacker Pschorr. Inside, you can pay with cash instead of the all-too-ubuitous-and-annoying ticket system found at most festivals.

This is a great event! The food, beer, music, and atmosphere are Awesome! One of my favorite festivals of the year!

If I could give 3.5 stars, I would. Good effort, but could stand to expand. The carnival next door looks bigger. Appears very family friendly, not as much of a hit for the single adult crowd. Very authentic offerings, though!

It's Oktoberfest! How could it be bad? I go every year and it's a great time. They have a fairly good selection of beers and a nice beer garden to enjoy the outside. I do wish they played more traditional music. We saw the flying toasters this year. Fun band but not want I think of for Oktoberfest. We ate at the restaurant within the German Park grounds. Well worth the trip to get a yummy schnitzel and an Oktoberfest beer!

This is a really great festival, it's very traditional with a great ambiance the way it's tucked back under the trees of German Park. It features carnival rides, authentic German food, German draft beer, crafts, and traditional + modern music at various stage areas. Edelweiss restaurant is nestled in the back of the park with an outdoor patio (serving beer & food -schnitzel!) that overlooks the main stage. Parking is free (but may take you a few minutes wait) and normal admission is $5. The only negative thing that keeps this event from getting 5-stars is the smoking policy (or lack there of). People chain smoke in droves all over this festival as it gets later and it drives you away unless you are the type that enjoys aspirating the taste and scent of an ashtray. I hope the event promoters consider making this family event smoke free (just like the actual Octoberfest in Munich is), then this event will be first class and 5 stars! Either way I plan to go back next year.

this Oktoberfest is worth checking out whether you're going for the food, beer, people watching or kid-friendly fun! Every year, we look forward to a good German beer and a bratwurst, authentically made be Claus' German butcher shop.

Oktoberfest is a must! Great bier and food, got to get food right away! Great band this year.

Such a nice time! We go every year at least one night/day. They have great food, drinks, and entertainment. Bounce houses, rides, and face painting for the kiddos.