If you’re ready to go BIG, head to the Tap House Grill Buxom Beer Garden for your official 1-liter souvenir beer stein brimming with your choice of Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen, Radeberger Pilsner, Weihenstephan Hefe-Weissbier or Veltins Pilsener. ($15 each, $9 for refills). Here’s a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at the stein!

If you’d rather stay in tasting mode, travel from East to West German Beer Tents inside The Stranger Microbrew Garden to sip, sample and find your favorite German beer at Fremont Oktoberfest. The West German Beer Tent will pour six beers including Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen and Celebrator Doppelbock. The East German Beer Tent features five German brews on tap including Hofbräu Dunkel and Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier.

See you at Fremont Oktoberfest, 1-liter stein in hand! Prost!

Interested in a few more advance ticket holder perks?

• You get to cut the line! That’s right. We have an Advance Ticket Holder Express Line at Fremont Oktoberfest.
• The Seattle Times is giving away a complimentary four-week trial to our advance ticket holders
• If you use the code “STEIN” when you purchase your advance tickets, you get TWO extra tasting tokens!

Tickets are now available online and starting soon (stay tuned!), you can purchase your advance tickets in person at Dad Watson’s, Frontier Bank (Fremont Branch), Markettime Foods, Portage Bay Goods, Sonic Boom Records (Ballard and Capitol Hill), Tap House Grill (Seattle & Bellevue), Pyramid Breweries, Georgetown Brewing, The Beer Junction in West Seattle, The Cellar Homebrew and T.S. McHugh’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Queen Anne. Visit the Ticket Information page for full outlet listings and event information.

Just celebrated your 21st birthday? Make Fremont Oktoberfest your first beer festival! Gather a group of friends and buy your tickets early, check out our Beer 101 post to prep you for the tasting experience and enjoy the event responsibly.

Just celebrated your 10th birthday? Take part in the Zucchini 500, a chance to build your own racecar out of your favorite (or not so favorite) vegetable and watch it speed through the finish line.

Used to have fun with your friends in The Stranger Microbrew Garden, but now push a stroller? Bring your family down to the Kids’ Area and sneak on over to the Pyramid Breweries Village Beer Garden for a pint or two.

Fremont Oktoberfest – been there, done that? No worries! We’ve got something for you, too. Get ready to go big and head straight to the stein. The Tap House Grill Buxom Beer Garden will be serving up German beers in commemorative one-liter steins.

Dream of running a marathon, but not quite ready yet? Start with the Brew HA-HA 5K and reward yourself with a beer at the finish line!

Registration for the Brew HA-HA 5K is open and advance tickets for The Stranger Microbrew Garden go on sale Monday, August 16th. Make your plans ahead of time to save money and time and we’ll see you at Fremont Oktoberfest September 24-26th.

Well, forget about it. Carving pumpkins is not just for kids anymore…

Get ready to witness a thrilling twist on a classic childhood tradition as master pumpkin carving artists show off their chainsaw skills as they compete for glory and the Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving Contest title at Fremont Oktoberfest. Bring your cameras as pumpkin guts fly through the air, chainsaws rip through pumpkin flesh, and crowds awe as artists bring these terrifying pumpkins to life.

If you’re not afraid of some orange goo, experience this one of a kind pumpkin carving massacre on Saturday and Sunday September 25th and 26th at 1:00pm on the Oktoberfest Village Stage (competition) and 2:30pm on the Verizon Main Stage (exhibition).

Hope you can take the terror!

You will also receive a coveted volunteer t-shirt (a few of you may have collected them through the years!), the opportunity to meet fellow beer lovers and volunteers, and the good feeling that comes from helping a cause. Fremont Oktoberfest is a benefit for the Fremont Chamber of Commerce; a portion of the proceeds goes toward funding local schools, art groups, community event and promoting Fremont as the “Center of the Universe.”

Popular shifts fill up quickly, so sign up for your favorite role before it’s gone! The following shifts are available:

• Entrance Booth*
• Production Help
• Beer Pouring*
• Buxom Beer Garden*
• Kids’ Area
• Brew HA-HA 5K (Race Monitors)
• Token Booth*
• Merchandise*

*Must be 21 and over to volunteer for the marked shifts

Fremont Oktoberfest Volunteer Meeting

First time volunteering for Fremont Oktoberfest or just need a refresher? Join us for the Fremont Oktoberfest volunteer meeting on September 16, 2010 at the Adobe Conference Center, 701 N. 34th Street, Seattle, WA from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.

Registration is the first step, training the next! Here are a few tips that will get you ready for this race to the bar stool:

• Register early. Pre-registration for the race is $20 and includes a Fremont Oktoberfest Brew HA-HA 5K t-shirt. Day-of registration is $30, but t-shirts are not guaranteed.
• Sign up for a special running division.

BEER BELLY DIVISION: Got a beer belly? No problem! Beer Belly Division participants will be treated like Oktoberfest royalty. Entrants that jump on the scale and qualify for the prestigious position – men who are +220 pounds and women who are +175 pounds – form this coveted crew. Besides earning the respect and admiration of fellow racers, division members will be honored with the unfair advantage of starting first, and thus ensuring the possibility of getting to the beer finish line before the rest of the pack!

TEAM DIVISION:Running and drinking are more fun with friends! Take your drinking buddies to the streets in the four-person team division. The winning team will be determined by average race times.

• Stay motivated. Setting realistic goals is an easy way for any runner to stay motivated to complete a race. At the Brew HA-HA 5K, reaching the Pyramid Breweries Village Beer Garden at the finish line is a popular goal set by many race goers. Runners looking for more libations later in the day can visit the Oktoberfest Microbrew Garden, which opens at 11:00am. Advance purchase for the microbrew garden is $20 and day-of entry is $25.

Go ahead… dress up, have fun and join us in the beer garden following the race. After all, life is what you pour into it!

Guten Tag!

I have now finally recovered from Fremont Oktoberfest! What an amazing festival party it was and now I look back on things I loved most. Miss Buxom Contest was so exciting with many beautiful contestants with funny German names. So much dancing and drinking at festival my feet felt tired for days after. I tried so many biers I can’t remember which was my favortien! Texas Chainsaw Contest was so fun I got pumpkin guts all over myself!

For now I say farewell to you until next year, which will bring bigger and more amazing Fremont Oktoberfest all over again. I loved drinking with everyone and I hope you had fun with me too!

Prost!

Team Division

1. Georgetown Brewing Company with average time of 17:34
2. Safety 3rd with average time of 17:59
3. Keep Fremont Free with average time of 19:54

Beer Belly Division – Men’s

1. Michael Bromund – 20:08
2. Brent Magill – 21:17
3. Gus Corso – 21:49

Beer Belly Division – Women’s

1. Cristine Skoglund – 27:13
2. Marisa Mancke – 27:50
3. Danielle Okuly  - 29:52

Overall Men’s Division

1. Brett Winegar – 15:44
2. Chris Charles – 15:52
3. Alex Henry – 16:13

Overall Women’s Division

1. Rose Wetzel – 18:00
2. Erika Daligcon – 19:05
3. Kristin Wier – 20:20

For full results go to: http://onlineraceresults.com/event/view_event.php?event_id=4055

1. What did it feel like to have your name announced as the winner of Miss Buxom?

Annie Being announced as Miss Buxom was abso-freakin-lutely awesome. At first I was confused because I think my stage name was announced but then I realized that it was me. I did a lot of fist pumping – it was glorious.

2.  What did you do to prepare for the big competition?

Annie & Eileen Well, we definitely put our ‘das boots’ to use in the moments leading up to going on stage. But really, our costumes were the biggest part of the prep — since we literally crafted them item-by-item, it took a week or so. And for the record — we were fun & funky — girls don’t wear lederhosen you crazy people!!

3. What did you think of the steep competition?

Annie & Eileen We were pretty confident at first — we were the first contestants to the Miss Buxom stage and we were the only ones until about 15 minutes before the sign up was over!! Then we got really nervous — the guys in the *real* lederhosen and the girl in the *real* dirndl (we were told they were actually purchased IN Germany!!!) definitely gave us a run for our money. Although, I think our stage names really got us some crowd approval!

4. What tips would you give to those looking to enter this year?

Annie & Eileen Make use of the time backstage — we got free beer for our ‘das boots’!! It was good to have stage names too — be creative and slightly ridiculous!

5. How has the title of Fremont Oktoberfest royalty changed you?

Annie The most unexpected part of it was the FOKT commercial — it played a bunch during Monday Night Football this past week and showed a few pictures of us on stage at the Miss Buxom Contest. A lot of our friends think we’re famous now!

6. And now, really what it is all about…how were the prizes? What was your favorite?

Annie & Eileen The best part was FOR SURE the Seahawks tickets! When we went, it was for a suite hosted by SnoCasino — fully catered, absolutely ridic! The dessert cart was literally the icing on the cake for us!! We took pictures because the dessert cart was so ahhh-mazing!!

If you’re ready to take on the competition – come to the TapHouse Grill Buxom Beer Garden tonight (between 5:30 and 6:00pm) in fun and funky German attire to sign-up! The contest begins at 7pm and hosts an amazing lists of prizes including Seahawks and Sounders Tickets, a Sirius Radio, $100 to TapHouse Grill, a night at The Courtyard Marriott Southlake Union and 10 tickets to Fremont Oktoberfest (for Saturday or Sunday).

We’ll see you tonight!

Before stepping out onto the streets I snagged away Bold Hat President (and the creator of Fremont Oktoberfest) for another installment of “Insider Tips!”

1. If you could sneak away from work and sip on one brew what would it be?

Georgetown Chocolate Stout.  Stouts get a bad wrap for being a “meal in a glass” – but they are actually a light drink (and delicious!).

2. What is your favorite band/act/entertainment going on during the weekend?

I am stoked to see a German band back after a void of omm pah pah bands for 10 years.  The festival has become one of the biggest Oktoberfest celebrations in the Puget Sound and we have been getting a lot of requests for more traditional  German bands and I’m delighted to provide our visitors with the music this year!

3. If you were to hang out in one lounge or beer garden all weekend what would it be?

I would do a Lounge crawl. I like feeling the vibes in all the different locations, and each one has their own personality and vibe. From last years experience I really like the Tap House Buxom Beer Garden. It’s a great hangout during the day and a party during the night!

4. Any tips for people coming into the event? (secret tips, things to bring, entrances to go through, etc.)

Parking can be a pest any weekend in Fremont, so I would park at Fred Meyer and take a stroll along the Burke Gilman to enter through the West gate. The gate usually isn’t as busy as the main entrance and brings you in right near the Simpsons 20^th Anniversary Main Stage. Once inside the festival start with the lighter beers and work your way up to the big IPA.

Overall, meet new people and enjoy the wonderful shops and restaurants here in Fremont.