Colorado Springs OktoberFest

Now in its fourteenth year and drawing roughly eight thousand people, this three-day festival takes over the grounds of the Western Museum of Mining & Industry north of Colorado Springs. A 6,000-square-foot tent houses a stage, dance floor and long festival tables where German bands play continuously. Beyond the beer there are guided tasting sessions branded as Bier, Wine, Mead and Schnapps Schule, plus a Dachshund Dash, a keg tapping, costume and stein-hoisting contests, and a German baking competition called Das Bake-Auf. Admission is free; visitors pay only for parking.