Oktoberfest is Coming to Staten Island in a Big Way

Rob Grams • August 9, 2017

Bad luck for Staten Islanders looking to avoid Oktoberfest this year, they’re closing roads and laying out tables for one of the biggest Oktoberfest celebrations the city has ever seen.

Just in case you landed on earth a day ago, Oktoberfest is the world’s largest Volksfest, “peoples’ festival.” The celebration is held annually in Munich and is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid or late September to the first weekend in October. Let’s be frank, if there is a festival that’s all about beer you can’t expect it not to spread like wildfire. Nowadays, far from it being a local festival, Oktoberfest celebrations, based on the one in Munich, can be seen the world over, and NYC is no different. We can’t allow the Germans to have all the fun.

This year one of the largest Oktoberfest’s the city has ever seen is happening in Staten Island. The new festival has been announced for West Brighton. The organizers will close a large stretch of Forest Avenue between Hart Boulevard and Bard Avenue on Sunday, Oct. 1 for the gigantic Forest Avenue Oktoberfest.

Much like the original party in Germany, there will be live entertainment, children’s rides, a food court and, of course, a beer garden. The Large, long wooden tables, reminiscent of those we’ve seen in the Munich counterpart, will be arranged along the eastern end of Forest Avenue ready for the beer, food, and revelry.

A local Staten Island artist, Natalie Wisniewski, responsible for the events logo drew this rendering of the party:

As the month (and change) until Oktoberfest passes, we expect a full vendor list to be announced, however, it is expected that most of the vendors to be pulled from local businesses. A recent post by SI Live highlights that representatives of Ho’Brah, Liberty Tavern, Jodys, Beans ‘n’ Leaves, Bruno’s NYC Restaurant and Bakery, Burrito Bar, and Mar Mar, are all Event Committee members.

Featured image source [maxpixel]