With temperatures at least temporarily feeling almost autumnal, the Vienna Business Association (VBA) is already starting to hype up its upcoming Oktoberfest.
The annual festival and fundraiser for the VBA will celebrate its 15th anniversary from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, bringing food, beer, artisan and business vendors, and live entertainment to the Church Street area in downtown Vienna.
Changes this year will include the addition of Settle Down Easy Brewing to the beer garden and a bike garden near the Red Caboose, which will provide more bicycle parking with racks lent by the local shop Bikes@Vienna.
“People can ride and then park and lock up their bikes and then go walk around the festival and enjoy the festival without having to drive over there,” VBA Executive Director Peggy James said. “I’m really excited about that. There’s a big, grassy area right at the intersection of Church Street and the W&OD Trail right across from the Freeman House. It’ll be right there.”
In addition to Settle Down Easy, which has a brewery in Merrifield and a tasting room in Oakton, the beer garden will bring back Caboose Brewing Company, the British-style pub Hawk and Griffin, Norm’s Beer and Wine, and Vienna Vintner as vendors.
The alcohol offerings have evolved significantly over the past decade, James says. In its early years, Vienna Oktoberfest was limited to Budweiser, but in addition to providing more options, its focus has shifted to hyper-local businesses.
The beer will be poured by volunteers from Shelter House, which provides services to people experiencing homelessness and domestic violence, and the beer garden on Mill Street will be manned by volunteers from Rustic Love, which is dedicated to addressing food insecurity.
In exchange for their support, the nonprofits will receive a portion of the festival’s proceeds donated by VBA, along with any tips for the beer pouring.
The VBA will also donate part of the proceeds to James Madison High School’s crew team, which has volunteered to monitor a kids’ area on the Town Green that will host games, entertainment and bounce houses.
More volunteers are expected from United Bank, Body Grace Fitness and Yoga and the general community, helping “make this event a great success,” James said.
The VBA will also keep funds raised by Oktoberfest to cover the promotional and professional development services it provides to the town’s businesses.
“We have small, hyper-local businesses in the Town of Vienna. They’re not like big, large corporations, so we try to keep our membership [rates] really low,” James said. “…So, Oktoberfest is really important because we have to raise money to support the organization…It supports the VBA and it supports charities in the Greater Vienna area.”
Though the food and artisan vendor rosters are still being finalized, the VBA has solidified most of this year’s entertainment lineup:
Beer Garden Stage
- 11 a.m.: Traditional German Oktoberfest music featuring Sexton’s German Band and D’ Potomactaler Stamm Bavarian Dance Group
- 1:30 p.m.: Larger Than Life (90’s boy band covers)
- 4 p.m.: Ocho de Bastos (Latin pop rock)
Town Green Stage
- 11 a.m.: Vienna Singing Princesses
- 12 p.m.: Cuppett Performing Arts Center
- 1:30 p.m.: The Great Zucchini
- 3 p.m.: Vienna Dance Academy
- 4 p.m.: Legacy Dance Institute
- 5 p.m.: Fairfax Chinese Dance Troupe
A third stage on Mill Street has booked Swell Band for 11 a.m. and Cargo & the Ashcats for 3 p.m., but two slots are still to be announced.
Vienna Oktoberfest has drawn 20,000 to 30,000 attendees on average each year, according to the VBA. Updates will be posted on the festival’s website.
