At First EcoTarium Oktoberfest, You Can Learn As You Drink

WORCESTER, MA — Can you think of a better way to learn whether animals can get drunk than in the company of a German chicken during an Oktoberfest celebration?

Worcester's EcoTarium science and nature museum will offer any 21+ local resident the opportunity to do just that this week. The museum will host its first ever Oktoberfest Friday, mixing beverages from local brewers with an education about how brewing and alcohol.

The Oktoberfest will also be the museum's first after-hours adult event since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival will offer live music from the Schwartze Schafe German Band, plus drinks from Wormtown, Redemption Rock, Polar and KrafTea Kombucha.

Once you've had a drink, you can say hello to Gretchen, one of the EcoTarium's chickens, and take part in some beer-focused educational activities, like how fermentation works and the question we've all been asking: do animals get drunk? You'll also be able to make your own glubberl flair to keep track of your beer glass or pin to your clothes.

"The impetus for the event was to reengage our adult audience in a fun, relaxed way; but to put an EcoTarium twist on it. For us, that means an opportunity to teach about fermentation and create new partnerships with local breweries," said Kerry Castorano, the museum's vice president of institutional advancement.

The outdoor event begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the EcoTarium, 222 Harrington Way, Worcester. Find tickets and more details on the museum website.