Get your beer-and-schnitzel taste buds ready and unpack your finest lederhosen or dirndl.
It’s time for Oktoberfest at The Wharf at one of the coolest locations in Southwest D.C.
“We’ve been hosting this particular event for about five years now,” Marketing & Communications Manager Julie Keleti told WTOP. “We’ve been hosting Oktoberfest since we opened and we’re excited to bring it back this year with three full days of celebrations.”
It kicks off Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Transit Pier with “Polka on the Pier.” Professionals at Polka Partei will teach lessons with traditional German dances. Register here.
“Polka is a very famous German dance style, so we’ll have professional dancers on Transit Pier … teaching people how to polka dance to really get the party started for Oktoberfest weekend,” Keleti said. “Polka on the Pier is for everybody. It’s perfect for all ages — even if you don’t know how to polka dance, come down, learn and just have a good time.”
Saturday’s festivities have been postponed due to inclement weather, but Sunday brings stein-hoisting contests indoors from 2 to 5 p.m. You can also enjoy German food at Wharf restaurants, including Cantina Bambina, Brighton SW1, Pearl Street Warehouse, Boardwalk Bar & Arcade, Rappahannock Oyster Bar and Kirwan’s Irish Pub. Register here.
“You’ll be able to test your strength in the stein-hoisting competitions,” Keleti said. “We’ll hand you a stein full of beer and whoever can hold it the longest, straight out, no bent elbows, will win a beer from us. We’ll buy you guys a Sam Adams OctoberFest beer.”
The 10th annual Wiener 500 Dachshund Dash is moving to Sunday Oct. 16 from 2 to 5 p.m. as German-bred dogs compete on a race track at District Pier with proceeds benefiting Rural Dog Rescue. You can watch the action on a jumbotron while partying with DJ Oktoberfest and enjoying ice cold Sam Adams Octoberfest beer. Register here.
“We’ll have a race track and over 158 dogs racing,” Keleti said. “All of the dogs will be lined up in different heats. There will be about 10 heats, so you can come out and watch the different dogs race each other. … Whichever dog crosses the finish line first wins our trophy, so it’ll be a great day. Come on and cheer the speediest dogs in D.C.!”
Listen to our full conversation here.
