Chippewa Falls Oktoberfest is set to open its gates

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (WEAU) - The 20th annual Oktoberfest in Chippewa falls begins Friday at the northern Wisconsin State Fair Grounds.

“It’s always typically the third weekend of September. It’s Friday and Saturday. Lots of fun events and of course, local beer”, says Maria Bunderson, Activities Committee Member.

And the event isn’t just for adults.

“It is kind of ironic in regards to it being a beer event, but we do have a lot of fun with the families. We do have a bounce house for the kids. We do have kids, arts and craft activities in the family fun building. We did reorganize those activities this year. We also had coloring contests for the kids this year that won free passes for the bounce house”, says Bunderson

She says they are ahead of schedule with prep work.

“Today is set up, the second day of setup and it’s been going smoothly. So it’s been exciting and decorating is all coming together. A lot of this is a lot of volunteers coming in helping and organizing. So it’s been been nice and seeing all the volunteer groups”, says Bunderson.

Even after all these years, they are still adding new things.

“We do have free parking for the event and then we also have our Beerhaus. That’s Friday night and Saturday night. Friday it’s from 7 to 9, Saturday from 5 to 8″, Bunderson says.

Bunderson says that the Beerhaus is the only place at Oktoberfest where you can get keg beer on tap.

“There’s four different flights of beer. So we have the different brands listed right here. So you can easily get a flight, a beer, or you can do just one at a time. If you would like. So it’s kind of nice and new. So we’re feeling out how people like it”, says Bunderson.

Tickets are still available at select local businesses or you can purchase tickets at the door.

Daily wristbands cost $12 and a weekend wristband costs $18 with a portion of the proceeds going back to the volunteers of the fest.

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