Pittsburgh Oktoberfest 2017: Festivals Begin This Weekend

PITTSBURGH, PA - The numbers don’t lie: When it comes to Oktoberfest, Pittsburgh might not match Munich for revelry, but there are few cities in America that do it better. A new study by the financial data website WalletHub ranks Pittsburgh as the nation’s ninth-best city to celebrating Oktoberfest.

To determine the best cities for partaking in the epic German festival, WalletHub’s number crunchers compared the 100 largest cities across 23 categories, ranging from share of German population to number of beer gardens per capita to average price for Oktoberfest celebration ticket.

Here’s how Pittsburgh ranked in some of the significant metrics:

• 11 – Percent of German Population
• 16 – German Restaurants per capita
• 13 – Breweries per capita
• 4 – Bar Accessibility
• 40 – Pretzel Shops per capita
• 15 – Oktoberfest festivals and parties per capita
• 28 – Average. price per Oktoberfest celebration ticket
• 28 – DUI-related fatalities per capita.

Cincinnati ranked first in the Oktoberfest study, followed by New York, Portland, Philadelphia, Denver, St. Louis, Madison, Orlando, Pittsburgh and Columbus.

Oktoberfest season kicks off in full force this weekend with these events:

• Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh, South Side Works, Sept. 15-17 beginning at 6 p.m. nightly

Highlights: Live music, Oktoberfest beer, circus acts, face painting and more.

• Penn Brewery, 800 Vinal St., Troy Hill, Sept. 15 and 16, 5 p.m.-midnight; Sept. 17, noon-10 p.m.

Highlights: They’re lagering the O-Fest beer and tuning the accordions for their biggest event of the year. The action takes place under the tent and will include food, beer, and merrymaking.

• Green Tree Oktoberfest, Sept. 16, 11 a.m.-9 .pm.; Sept. 17, noon until dusk, Green Tree Park, Green Tree.

Highlights: Games, rides, food, live entertainment and more.

• Pennsylvania Bavarian Oktoberfest, Sept 15, 4-11 p.m.; Sept. 16 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sept 17, noon-6 p.n. Pike Street and Central Avenue, Canonsburg.

Highlights: Ranked by aol.com as one of the Top Ten Oktoberfest celebrations in the nation, the festival features two stages: one with authentic German music and the other with continuous popular music. There also will be German cuisine and beer, as well as ethnic and American foods are featured. The Oktoberfest also features our craft concourse vendors, amusement rides, game, and much more.

Photo: Club Transatlantico via Creative Commons.