La Mesa Oktoberfest

Downtown La Mesa closes several blocks of its main street for a three-day Bavarian street party east of San Diego. The free-to-enter festival is built around a set of ticketed biergartens, with a keg tapping to open it and wiener dog races in a dedicated dachshund village. A separate Kinder Village, a Ferris wheel and an artisan market keep it workable for families rather than drinkers alone.