Oktoberfest 2026: What's left in the Triangle

If you've been waiting for Oktoberfest season to land in the Triangle, the good news is that it's already here and still going. While the original Munich festival runs from mid-September into early October, Raleigh spreads its celebrations across both months, so there's plenty left on the calendar.

Today, Sunday, October 11, the party is at Trophy on Maywood for Oktrophyfest, which runs from noon to 5 p.m. and costs nothing to get into. The Little German Band is playing, Miles Hoyle is on accordion, and the food leans into the theme: Harmon's Deutsche Küche, oysters from Locals Seafood, and pretzels from Crofton's. If you're bringing a group, they're reserving tables of eight for $150. Earlier in the day, Apex held its Oktoberfest at the Town Hall Campus, and the season is far from over.

Looking ahead, the next big stop is the International Wine and Beer Festival-Ocktoberfest on Saturday, October 17, at City Plaza in downtown Raleigh, from noon to 8 p.m. It's free to attend and pulls beers and wines from around 15 countries, with international cuisine to match. The day after that, Southern Peak Brewery hosts Peaktoberfest at Sweetwater Town Center in Apex, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with Apex beers, yard games, a 2:30 p.m. stein hoisting, and a full lineup of live music from The Good Doods, TwoBloom, SayLess The Band, and Julia Golden.

For a sense of what you've already missed, the biggest event of the season was Triangle Oktoberfest at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary on October 2 and 3. It's put on by the Rotary Clubs of Apex Sunrise and Cary MacGregor for charity, and last year it raised over $165,000 for causes like the Miracle League and Western NC Disaster Relief. The two days were packed: more than 65 local and Munich beers, polka from the King Guys Oktoberfest Brass Band, the largest wiener dog races in North Carolina, a Kinder Platz for kids, and a whole run of contests from stein hoisting to hammer-striking. Tickets ran from $20 to $25 depending on the day, with kids 15 and under free and dachshund owners getting one free ticket per dog.

That's just the headline events. The region's breweries have been keeping the theme going all autumn, from Tap Yard's Taptoberfest with the Oak City Polka Kings to Sproktoberfest at Crank Arm Brewery, where the 1-liter stein-hoisting competition sends winners into the U.S. Steinholding Association quarterfinals. There's been a family-friendly Crooktober at Crooked Hammock Brewery, a bar crawl starting at North Street Beer Station, and a long-running Barktoberfest at Downtown Cary Park that swaps beer for puppy yoga, pet portraits and canine trivia.

Whether you're after a full-day festival, a brewery taproom with a little German food and a stein, or just a place to bring the kids for a pretzel necklace, the Triangle has it covered. The big events are still to come, so there's plenty of time to find your spot.