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    Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati

    3.7 (74 reviews)

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    Eileen B.

    It's back FINALLY. We have missed this over the top German celebration. The have expanded the hours to Thursday at 5 through Sunday night. The delicious food and beer is aplenty. I got my favorite goetta balls and a Strawberry ale. What a combo. I am so glad that slowly celebrations are returning and we get to experience fantastic food and cheer

    it's the most wonderful tine of year!
    Maggie S.

    if you can't be in Germany, this is where you should be! Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is traditionally the nation's largest Oktoberfest and the second largest in the world to the original Oktoberfest in Munich. The people of Cincinnati never met a reason to party that they didn't like, it's like "festival" is our middle name. And since it's during football season, they usually have it set up where hard core fans can enjoy the game and the festival- so no one has to is out. Definitely put this one on your lost of things to experience at least once. **(2020 Festival was held virtually due to pandemic, some of my photos reflect our celebration of Oktoberfest Zinzinnati at home featuring pretzels from Tuba Baking (check them out!) Prost!

    Arthur L.

    Who doesn't like beer, brats and fun? Oktoberfest has it all and Cincinnati's is America's largest Oktoberfest. So what does that mean for you? Plenty of options for food, drink and entertainment. The hours are great and parking is not hard to find close to the festival. And don't worry about just having a card many booths are equipped to accommodate. Tips to make your visit a success: 1) Toilets. There are plenty of porta potties around and available, but if you believe your buns deserve a better less smelly class of toilet, there are better toilets close by that have a/c and other amenities like running water. 2) Scan before your buy. Many vendors will be selling the same things but endeavor to look around or scan several booths before purchasing. You wont regret making a decision based on someone else's plate. Eat well and be merry at the Oktoberfest!!

    2012 zoomer

    This festival needs to be moved back to the fountain to keep everyone from roasting. There is no shade over the busy highway. It used to be cool and breezy and you could sit down anywhere for a beer. Now if there is not a space under a tent it is unbearable. The festival vendors and entertainment are great though. Do noy order the Zoomer, I have been getting this since I was a boy with my dad when it was Strausse Haus. It used to extend off the plate, now they always run out of peppers and half the size with twice the price. Never again. Look at the picture from 2012 to 2022.

    Apple strudel
    Kim S.

    This was my first time attending the famous Zinzinnati Oktoberfest. Unfortunately, I was not too impressed. While plenty of beer was flowing, many other aspects were lacking. I was hoping for more varieties of German cuisine (I struggled to find even one stand that sold strudel, and the one I ended up getting wasn't even that great). The music on the stage at the time also was a 70s and 80s rock cover band, not authentic German music. Lastly, there was a definite need for more tables and tents, as it was hot and there was nowhere for people to sit and relax or enjoy their food/drinks.

    Emily H.

    I don't know how I've missed Oktoberfest for so many years considering I grew up near Cincinnati. But at least I can say I'm in the dark no more! I went last night for a few hours and had a blast. First of all, the beer was plentiful (Hofbrau House, Sam Adams, Yuengling, Hudepohl and Erdinger, among others). I was able to try a few I hadn't been able to before. And copious amounts of German food were on hand. One of my particular favorites is goetta, which, if you haven't had the pleasure, is an oatmeal and pork mixture. They had good ol' goetta like my mom and grandmother make on Christmas morning but also goetta balls, goetta mac and cheese, goetta burgers, goetta omelets, goetta nachos and even goetta donuts. Other German favorites included sauerkraut, schnitzel, pretzels and strudel. It was a veritable cornucopia of German comfort food! So much more than a street party parading as a cultural event, this Oktoberfest had some authenticity to it (though a party it definitely was). One of the only negatives was the fact that there were not enough garbage cans. Bottles and cans covered the street, and I had to carry around my trash for a bit before I found a receptacle. All in all, though, Cincinnati's Oktoberfest earned its designation as the largest Oktoberfest celebration outside of Germany. I'll definitely go back!

    Cream puff!!!!!
    Erin M.

    Yay for zinzinnati oktoberfest! One of many reasons I love being back in this city! I love that they close down the roads - it's such a great weekend (or day, whichever you prefer) to gorge on the best, most delicious foods and drink: goetta, any kind of sausage you could ever want, cream puffs, fried everything, beer, cider..... Yes, it's crowded, but what festival isn't?! Love the ambiance, food and how into it people get, especially seeing the costumes! What's not to love?

    Samuel L.

    @Eating.Drinking: I think it is safe to say that Cincinnati's #Oktoberfest was a massive success even throughout the rainy Saturday! * A massive thank you must go to @oktoberfestzinzinnati & the main sponsors @samueladamsbeer & @amazon, as well as all of the other companies and businesses who played a huge part in making this past weekend one to remember for all Cincinnatian's, and those who travelled to the Queen City for the second biggest Oktoberfest outside of Munich! * The Samuel Adam's ale was thoroughly enjoyed, as was the platter which included a huge German style hot dog, and exquisite German sides. The stunning funnel cake was washed down by yet more ale, while enjoying the buzz in the air.

    Hollyann H.

    Cincinnati is extremely German, so it should be no surprise to you that we host the largest Oktoberfest in America. We do not take our German heritage for advantage in this awesome city, especially when it comes to going all out for Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati. My favorite things that happen at Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati are "The Running Of The Weiners", where lots of Dachshunds are dressed up in hot dog outfits as they run in a race to their other person. It's easily the cutest part of Oktoberfest, and one of the cutest things you will ever see in your life. I also really love that we are host to "The Worlds Largest Chicken Dance". Where whoever was selected has Grand Marshall of Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati leads everyone in doing the chicken dance together. My favorite Grand Marshall, a couple years ago we had George Takei do it. It was glorious. The obvious things about Oktoberfest are that there is lots of great beer and lots of great food. To fully enjoy all of the beer at Oktoberfest I would suggest you buy one of the (usually) $12 Souvenier mug (with a beer in it) and you get to go around to ALL of the beer booths throughout your time there and get it refilled for $8. Way more bang for your buck and you get to take home a badass mug. I'm really not into eating sausages, for the reason not because they don't taste good, but because I have weird texture issues with certain foods. Sausages being one of them. I guess I just didn't get that somehow with all my German heritage. If that's your thing, make sure you get one, loaded with sauerkraut. I've been told it's amazing. I on the other hand really enjoyed smashing on a freshly made huge pretzel. In which before I even got my pretzel, I sat there and watched the girl who was making them from scratch and baking them. Drool worthy. If you're not a fan of drinking, drunk people, loud obnoxious people and large crowds I would not suggest Oktoberfest for you. Dan love beer and food so we went. But I have horrible social anxiety, and we went on Sunday during the evening and it wasn't that packed and I had no issues. So, if you do decide to go and you are everything I just described. Try Sunday evening. It's way more chill and not as crazy. The crowds are minamal compared to the other days.

    Rachel R.

    Ok, so the Oktoberfest committee seemed to have listen to the people! This year was so.much better than previous years. I saw no big chain restaurants and up until the last block they were actually all German themed! And not a LaRosa's booth in site! The layout was also tons better this year! Going from the edge of fountain square and going down past Broadway this year. It opened a lot of space up. And there were more beer selections. Still the Bud and Miller stands, but fewer, and a few more craft beer stands. I still went on Sunday, albeit earlier this year. But some stands were still packing up early and were running out of little things. I still don't get why the end of the strip they seem to shove the smaller booths (like our poor Yelp booth) down at the end so no one really has a reason to flow down that way... The Hudepohl bar and glockenspiel set up was by far the greatest setup I've ever seen. Well done. Is it perfect? No... but it is getting better... slowly... Now if it were just a little more German infused :p

    Spiral chips with ranch, cheese sauce, and bacon bits
    Jessi C.

    Oktoberfest was fun, but not really my scene. It was crowded as hell, dirty, and just a general cluster. A LOT of drunk people getting rowdy in the streets...Definitely not family friendly. We went on Saturday night at 8:30pm, so that was probably our mistake. The wait for beer was ridiculous. We easily spent 10 minutes waiting for freaking Sam Adams...We should've headed straight to the Brewer's Alley, but we didn't know where it was! Why are there no maps?? The Oktoberfest is huge, but it was very disorganized. However, once we did find Brewer's Alley, that's where we stayed. All of the beers there were very good, and much more reasonably priced considering the quality was better ($6 for what I think was about 16 oz). They had great breweries...locals like Madtree, Braxton, or Urban Artifact and some out-of-town beers, like Stone, Brooklyn, etc. I was impressed with the beer selection in Brewer's Alley! FYI they stop serving beer at 11pm. We tried 3-4 different food vendors and none of them were really that good. I was disappointed, because we moved here from Pennsylvania, where we can get delicious potato pancakes or pierogies at any town fair, but the ones here were not very good. Even the funnel cake was kind of bad. Bring cash because most vendors are CASH ONLY. Oh, and the place is a mess. The streets were filthy, and the parking garage in Fountain Square had vomit right in front of the pay-to-park kiosk (gross!). It was fun, but I think next year I'll come during the day to try to avoid the alcoholics. And I'll probably eat somewhere else...

    Proof Zincinnati Oktoberfest is fabulous.
    Ryan D.

    Let's start with the massive fact that this is the 2nd largest Oktoberfest outside of Munich on top of Nick Lachey, of 98* heartthrob fame, singing the Chicken Dance live in Fountain Square with hundreds of thousands of people: retread what I just wrote and blow out your mind one more time. BLOWN. Now let's get ahold of your sanity and talk about this fantastic weekend I. THE heart f the city. Yes, it's everything you hope for. And yes, I did buy lederhosen just for the meet fact it's here and it's amazing. BUT 600,000 are hard to fit downtown anyway you cut it. Long beer lines and shoulder to shoulder action wherever you go make up the only part of this awesome event you'll get frustrated with (and the reason for 4 not 5 stars). It's over for 2014, but it was awesome and so much fun! Freshen up on your polka music and get ready for 2015.

    BFF for 33years, going strong!

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    Ask the Community - Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati

    Review Highlights - Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati

    I've been going since they held it on Fountain Square, The Banks and now Sawyers Point.

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    Taste of Blue Ash - Courtesy of website

    Taste of Blue Ash

    3.8(5 reviews)
    12.6 mi

    This review is long past due but I have to echo what Lauren said, the "taste" part was missing…read more I've seen more food options on a weeknight at Washington Park than for this MAJOR festival. Not only was the amount of food a total bummer, but the lines because of the lack of food was atrocious. We are talking hour wait times from line to getting your food. It was an organizational nightmare as lines whipped around into other lines and through the grass and roads surrounding. The lack of local beer was also very apparent. They had miller light, coors, and one "craft beer booth/tent" that had a few local madtree cans and then some bigger craft beer names. Again, a total disappointment for an event of this caliber. I don't know if the sponsors weren't getting a lot out of this and decided not to participate this year or if the people organizing this event just weren't really pitching/selling the event hard enough to get sponsors. Either way with as much going on as Cincinnati has - I would not recommend this festival. The only saving grace was being a 90's babies and hearing blessed union of souls and even that was a disappointment as they played mostly cover songs of other peoples music.

    First I will say this review is for the 2017 Taste of Blue Ash only…read more For the first time I was disappointed!. In past years I would rave about the great music, food, and drinks. This year the music was still good and the reason for receiving any stars. The "Taste" piece is where it missed the mark. There were barely any food options, and of the small selection of choices the lines were super long. I guess that was due to the fact there wasn't much to choose from. What happened Blue Ash? It was more of a festival than a "Taste". This is a family tradition we love going to to and this year was just unfortunate....

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    Taste of Blue Ash - Panorama of A Taste of Blue Ash 2014 at Summit Park.

    Panorama of A Taste of Blue Ash 2014 at Summit Park.

    Taste of Blue Ash - Donut burger from busken

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    Lumenocity

    Lumenocity

    4.6(8 reviews)
    0.8 miOver-the-Rhine

    Lumenocity 2016 was held at the Taft Theatre this year. What sets this year different from other…read moreyears is that the light show was indoors this year. And, since it was indoors, they were able to offer more tickets for everyone to come and see the event. In addition to that, there were about three-four shows for each day the event occurred, (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). Getting to Taft Theatre was pretty easy, and since there wasn't a game going on that weekend it wasn't super crowded in downtown Cincinnati. Parking lots were easy to find. Once you parked, the block party they had in front of Taft Theatre was easy to get to. There were about five or six food trucks, and lots of activities for kids. There was even police presence throughout the festival. This year, you were able to get a wristband ahead of time once they scanned your ticket to expedite getting into the Theatre. But really, it was pretty easy to get in even without getting a wristband ahead of time. They did a great job at handling the crowd before the show. Once inside, it was easy to find your seat. The show started on time which was great! And, it was only 45 minutes which is long enough to be able to enjoy the music, but short enough that all the kids in the audience would not get bored. Seeing the light show indoors was nice, because the lights came out more vibrant compared to watching it outside projected onto a wall. And, you had assigned seating, so you didn't have to worry about saving your seat ahead of time. If you didn't want to pay to see the show, they also broadcasted it outside where the block party was. Overall this year's event was enjoyable. They had some technical difficulties leading up to the event, but it was solved by the time the event started. (The company they used to email the etickets to everyone somehow had their emails come up as spam so a majority of people did not get their tickets by the Monday it was promised. They updated their website letting people know that they were working with finding a new company to send out everyone's etickets. The tickets were delivered on Thursday night).

    Amazed I'm the first to (create/review) this absolutely amazing event. This is the second year for…read moreLumenocity, and it was Fantastic!! I was out of town last year at Lollapalooza, sleeping on a boat, when the inogural Lumenocity happened, but luckily I have a friend that was so impressed that he got Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra season tickets JUST to be eligible for the tix to Lumenocity 2014! The event 2014 had food/beer(Rhinegeist) trucks down Race Street, all kinds of vendors, food and Cincy local craft artists in the treed part of the park. This part was open to people without tix to the actual event, and it was food/art festival that was more attended than anything I've seen in Washington park, and I'm there weekly. The show: The show was spectacular. YouTube it. If you haven't been, YouTube the hell out of Lumenocity, and share it. Make it viral. One of the best symphonies in the world, synchronized to amazing digital graphics, using one of Cincinnati's best landmarks(Cincinnati Music Hall) as a canvas. It is amazing, emotional, and one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time.

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    Lumenocity
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    Cincinnati Chocolate Festival

    Cincinnati Chocolate Festival

    2.8(24 reviews)
    4.1 miAvondale

    This was actually the first thing we did when we moved to Cincinnati. Quite literally. We pulled…read moreinto the Queen City, saw a billboard advertising that it was happening that day, and decided to check it out. What was a crazy mass of people grabbing for as many chocolate treats as possible has only gotten crazier. Our first visit saw a fighting chance. Now, talking to vendors to learn about them, and their craft is nearly impossible. The stream of people keeps pushing forward, and one gets swept away from the booths. As the event has grow, this has continued to be the case. (All pre COVID, not sure how this will be safely handled in the future.) While we have tried some amazing treats, thus introducing us to some amazing local businesses, it is hard to truly enjoy the experience. Chocolate should be savored. It is hard to do that here. The only exception is the children's play area. This is consistently a ghost town. My children have enjoyed playing the games, gettibg balloons, or whatever else has been offered. The area is kind of like a section of an elementary school carnival.

    I attended this event with my sister in 2014. There is a whole lot of chocolate here. Yum! You…read morestart out with tickets for tastings at the different vendors and there is the opportunity to purchase additional tickets at the event. There were A LOT of different vendors and a lot of chocolaty things to see. I recommend walking through at least once so that you can decide what samples you are most interested in tasting. My only complaint is that the later it gets in the day the more congested the event is. We arrived right when it opened and that was a VERY wise decision. We were kind of crammed together with loads of other pushy people right before we left and that was not ideal. We also upgraded to tickets that included the Bella Luna lounge and wine tasting. This was a great value. Bella Luna provided small bites of (not chocolate) food like pasta and bruchetta. There were 5 wine tastings included in the price and they were very generous pours. I would attend again.

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    Cincinnati Chocolate Festival
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    Boone County Fairgrounds - 2024 Boone County Fair

    Boone County Fairgrounds

    4.8(4 reviews)
    12.6 mi

    In a spur-of-the-moment decision, my husband and I decided to make the drive from Louisville to go…read moreto the Boone County Fair with our kids. We grew up in Boone County, and our family, who still lives there, met up with us. And we had such a lovely night, making new memories while also thinking about past ones. We started by entering the kids rock race with some round rocks we had found while on vacation. I love how wholesome the fair contests are, especially for the kids. And this is pretty much like it sounds; the kids raced rocks down a track, and the rock that rolled the farthest won. This ended up being both of my kids, who won in their age groups. There was lots of food to choose from. The donuts and popcorn were my kids' favorites. We checked out the demolition derby and the 4H competitions with the livestock. Then we took in some rides. The $15 per person admission is a bit steep but seems more doable when you consider it includes all rides. I have a soft spot for local fairs and festivals, which perhaps started my attending this one when I was little.

    LIGHT UP THE FAIR: this Christmas display is located at the Boone County Fairgrounds. I was out…read morethat way for a Christmas party and it was recommended to check out this drive-through light display for Christmas. I was debating whether to check out Florence's huge light display just down the road, but this specific drive-through was open an hour later and did not close until 10 PM. This worked so much better with my schedule! I was really impressed with how long the drive through the lights were. I loved how all the lights were synchronized with music that we could access with our car radio. It was pretty cheap compared to how long the display lasted. I'm so glad a local recommended this to me! Perfect holiday activity--especially for families.

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    Boone County Fairgrounds
    Boone County Fairgrounds
    Boone County Fairgrounds - 2024 Boone County Fair

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    2024 Boone County Fair

    Annual MainStrasse Village Maifest

    Annual MainStrasse Village Maifest

    3.6(5 reviews)
    0.8 mi

    While I understand that Braxton Brewery is the one sponsoring this event, and the Mainstrauss…read moresociety association has shut its doors, I feel like this festival fell flat. It was only on one street really and in the park. Growing up I remember there being rides, games, more vendors, and more German Beer. Where was the German Beer??? The whole reason why I come to these events is for the delicious beer like Hefweizen, Weiss Beer, and Dunkels. It was all lame Braxton beers and a handful of overpriced cocktail vendors. They also had country music playing which REALLY didn't make it feel German at all. Cmon Braxton! Get it together, you call this a German Festival?? It felt rushed, and Hodgepodge. Also, why is it only on one street! Mainstrauss is huge and used to have vendors and shops and food all the way down to the fountain. I give it 2 stars. Maybe it'll grow, but this should be a way bigger event with rides and more games and activities for families and kids, like it used to be in the 90s and 2000s. I recommend expanding into more than just a few shops selling the same candle, jewelry, and incense merch as well.

    Kicking off the Greater Cincinnati's festival season, Covington's Maifest celebrates the area's…read moreGermanic tradition of heralding the arrival of spring wines. However, I think Maifest is little more about beer and brats, but fun nonetheless. The 2008 event kicks off Friday, May 16th and runs until Sunday, May 18th. If the weather is nice, Maifest will be packed as tightly as Northern German sardines. Good luck trying to navigate with a stroller or wheelchair. Yet, given Cincinnati's unpredictable spring weather, chances are pretty good that there will at least be scattered showers, scaring away half of the crowd to a number that's manageable. Drinkers, your best bet is to purchase a collectors mug, which can be refilled at vendors' booths for a discount over individual beer price. And you're making Mother Nature proud. The beer selection is mostly domestic (unfortunately), but Warsteiner's there to keep things semi-authentic. For families, there are tons of food booths and artisans selling their wares, even "gypsies" reading your palms or tarot cards. Kiddies will love the carnival rides and games set up in the 5th street parking lot. Oompa bands and men in Lederhosen rock the crowd Bavarian style, but if that's not your style you can pop into any of the MainStrasse bars for more contemporary jams. There will invariably be someone who can't hold their liquor and will embarrass themselves terribly in front of a crowd of 150,000. But you'll walk away with a renewed sense of Schadenfreude. Prost!

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    Annual MainStrasse Village Maifest
    Annual MainStrasse Village Maifest - Photo from website

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    Photo from website

    Blink Cincinnati - The light show at Music Hall in OTR is not to be missed.

    Blink Cincinnati

    3.5(29 reviews)
    1.2 miOver-the-Rhine

    Gets better each year. Traffic on the weekend is very bad…read more Try to go before the weekend. Some Blinks are hard to find. Some areas do not feel very safe. Music needs to be for all ages it was a little on the young side. The banks were fun...

    I went to the Cincinnati Blink Festival last night, and OMG!! It was a giant sensory-rich…read morepedestrian party, with lights, music, and murals!!! I'm so glad I used the park-and-ride at Cincinnati State, rather than trying to park downtown. Cincinnati Metro was efficient, got us to the venue quickly (and with free LED bracelets), and dropped us at the underground Riverfront garage station I hadn't heretofore realized existed. And then the party began. Walnut and Vine Streets -- the North and South streets all the way from the Riverfront to Findlay Market -- were open only to us pedestrians. The goal was to walk your own self-guided path & explore, with a map of all the exhibits in hand, which I didn't refer to as much as just following the noise and the lights. All along the route I admired and savored the art displays, the interplay of light and music, the buskers (there were many!!), the food trucks, and the clusters of parties all along the long stretch, from the riverfront to downtown proper, to Over-the-Rhine, to Findlay Market. My favorites: the spectacular drone show at the river (it was fireworks without the boom), the spinning light display at Smale Park -- you laid on the provided pillows on the ground and watched a large overhead disk where a display of lights was synced to selections of classical music; the Music Hall Display at Washington Park, which was an amazing explosion of different light configurations projected on the iconic bricks of Music Hall, with music -- it looked like spider webs, then breakthroughs of light, then little shattered pieces -- very inspiring and dramatic; all the beautiful murals -- some new pieces, some longstanding that I'd never noticed before; all the night vendors at Findlay Market; the "silent disco" happening at the Findlay Market shed -- without the provided headphones it was just a group of people silently dancing together, with the headphones you could hear the music and were invited into on the party; and even small displays like the small alley park with a tree light display made to appear that it was being repeatedly struck by lightning. Very well-organized -- it was packed with people but since it was more than 30 blocks of the city there was still a lot of room, and man, was it a feast for the entire senses! Unfortunately, I didn't get to the Covington and Newport displays, but I've got two more days of the festival for that. And at times it felt like a long walk in between displays, and I kept worrying that I was missing some good ones. But I loved the ability to do some safe urban hiking in the middle of Cincinnati with a million or so friends -- it was a great opportunity to go out somewhere by myself where I felt safe and comfortable, and see some amazing light shows!

    Photos
    Blink Cincinnati - Spider web at Washington Park

    Spider web at Washington Park

    Blink Cincinnati - Active mural on Liberty.

    Active mural on Liberty.

    Blink Cincinnati - An installation of a frog with the stunning Roebling Bridge in the background.

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    An installation of a frog with the stunning Roebling Bridge in the background.

    Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati - festivals - Updated May 2026

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