Ocean Beach Oktoberfest, promoted as “San Diego’s wildest,” returns this year for its 21st installment on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6-7.
Sponsored by Jägermeister, the fall classic event is one of only seven the liquor giant chose to sponsor this year out of hundreds of applications nationwide. Live music, activities, and drinks will be flowing on Friday, Oct. 6, from 4-11:30 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 7, from noon-11:30 p.m. To celebrate OB Oktoberfest, visit OBOktoberfest.com or follow on Instagram and Facebook.
“We’re thrilled to be recognized and sponsored by Jägermeister as one of the top Oktoberfests throughout the entire country,” said event founder and beach entrepreneur Scott Slaga. “With over two decades of tradition, this iconic event blends the vibrancy of live music, the thrill of contests, and the camaraderie of community, setting the stage for an unforgettable start to October in America’s Finest City.”
The day-and-night, two-day event will feature live music from both local and nationally touring artists including Afroman, Ballyhoo!, Paging the 90s, Band of Gringos, and more. Partygoers can also look forward to a 4:20 happy hour, a drag show, Oktoberfest-themed contests and games including a Mr. and Ms. Oktoberfest competition, the traditional stein-holding contest, brat eating, and more. Attendees 21-plus can enjoy traditional German brews, local beer, wine, spirits, and delicious local bites.
Proceeds from OB Oktoberfest will benefit the Ocean Beach MainStreet Association (specifically the Friends of OB Program), The Peninsula Alliance, and The Warrior Foundation Freedom Station. The event raises over $50,000 per year for community partners and has raised $750,000 total to date.
General admission is $10 and available the day-of at the gate. Those interested in VIP tickets for $49 can purchase ahead of time, which includes entrance, a custom one-liter “OB Oktoberfest” mug filled with two beers, access to an exclusive VIP area with a bar area, upgraded restrooms, and priority re-entry.
OKTOBERFEST’S ORIGIN
Bavarian Crown Prince Louis, later King Louis I of Bavaria, married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen on Oct. 12, 1810. The Bavarian royalty invited the citizens of Munich to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front of the city gates. Horse races in the presence of the royal family concluded the popular event, celebrated in varying forms all across Bavaria. The decision to repeat the festivities and the horse races in the subsequent year gave rise to the tradition of the annual Oktoberfest, which now begins in late September and lasts until the first Sunday in October featuring German beer and food.
OB OKTOBERFEST’S ORIGIN
Ocean Beach Oktoberfest event founder Scott Slaga, and Ocean Beach MainStreet Association, teamed up to put the beach community’s own cultural stamp on the international German festival. Slaga is a beach entrepreneur and co-owner of Winstons Beach Club in OB and 710 Beach Club in Pacific Beach. OBMA is the community’s business improvement district. Together, the pair share responsibility for transforming the event.
Slaga came up with the notion of holding a beach Oktoberfest after being introduced to Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany in 2000. “I’d never seen such a celebration before, 600,000 people in 20 huge beer tents, all of it bigger than a football field with 7,500 people per tent,” he said. “It was all ages and no language barriers, with people drinking and dancing and singing.”
Fresh in his mind while returning to San Diego from Germany, it occurred to Slaga that San Diego needed its own Oktoberfest. The inaugural OB Oktoberfest was held at Dusty Rhodes Park in 2002, then over to Del Mar before finally finding a lasting home at the beach in OB. Being outdoors, in an oceanfront setting, is what makes the event something rare and special. “Our Oktoberfest is different from all the others,” said Slaga. “We don’t follow tradition. We have some good German food and beer, but we have our own music and contests.”
