Best Oktoberfest celebrations in North America

Frankenmuth, MI

It all started decades ago with a Bavarian theme restaurant and grew into the first ever overseas Oktoberfest officially sanctioned by the City of Munich and Parliament. Oktoberfest in Frankenmuth runs from September 17 to 20, 2009 with festivities centering around Heritage Park. Accordion music, polka-ing on a huge wooden dance floor, "wiener dog" races, buffet dinners and gallons of HB Munich beer all add up to the premier Oktoberfest celebration in North America and they've got the tour buses to prove it! "Pure Michigan", as the Tim Allen tourism commercial says.
www.frankenmuthfestivals.com

Cincinnati, OH

Oktoberfest-Zinzinnati USA is North America's biggest Oktoberfest celebration with half a million people putting a run on pig tails, Limburger cheese and, of course, beer! Speeding daschunds, alpenhorn tooting, polka music, beer stein racing and the World's Largest Chicken Dance all add up to the full American-Bavarian experience scheduled for the weekend of September 19 and 20, 2009.
A ticket to the Saturday night HYPE Haus Party at The Partyzelt--the largest beer tent and sports bar sponsored by Time Warner Cable--is this year's hot one.
www.oktoberfestzinzinnati.com

Snowbird, UT

Rated #1 ski resort in the U.S. by Skiing Magazine five years in a row, Snowbird is also a top choice for celebrating Oktoberfest due to its scenic alpine setting.
Every weekend between August 22-23 and October 10-11 sees the Snowbird Event tent become the Oktoberfest Halle with Bavarian music, dancing and traditional cuisine like bratwurst and apfelstrudel. Get a head start on holiday shopping from local vendors in Der Marktplatz. You don't have to be staying at the resort to attend.
Only 29 miles from Salt Lake City international airport, Snowbird is the most accessible four-season mountain resort in North America. Leave pets at home, though. You could be fined up to $1,000 for polluting if Tinkerbell tinkles anywhere in the area's pristine watershed.
www.snowbird.com

Tulsa, OK

When Bon Appetit magazine rated the Tulsa Oktoberfest as having the "best German food", it launched that city into the top 5 best places in North America to celebrate Oktoberfest. It's also one of the few that actually takes place in October. 2009's four-day event runs from Thursday, October 22 to Sunday, October 25. Delicious food and drink, live music straight from Germany, polka dancing, carnival rides and the chicken dance all add up to a great time.
www.tulsaoktoberfest.org

Boston, MA

Beantown is also a huge beer town. Their Oktoberfest is actually many, with no shortage of brewpubs and opportunities to celebrate, each with its own flavor. Here are the most popular:
Harpoon is one of the biggest microbreweries and celebrates at their brewery on Boston's waterfront the first Friday and Saturday each October. www.harpoonbrewery.com
Beer Summit and Samuel Adams will throw their 2009 Oktoberfest do at the Park Plaza Castle on September 11 and 12. www.beersummit.com
Attend the largest Oktoberfest in New England at the Boylston Schul-Verein German Club and School, September 12 and 13, 2009. www.germanclub.org
More than 100,000 people will visit Harvard Square Sunday, October 11 (raindate October 12) for their single-day Oktoberfest honoring German culture and Boston's ethnic diversity. www.harvardsquare.com

Kitchener, ON

Canada's big Bavarian festival takes place in the Southern Ontario community of Kitchener-Waterloo from October 9 to 17, 2009. Traditional revelries get an injection of cool when Rock and Polka meet at the Molson-sponsored Rocktoberfest Haus Party October 11.
They're not kidding here when they say that polka is a rich genre with an important place in the current musical landscape. In response to this year's announcement by the Recording Academy that the Grammy Awards has eliminated the Best Polka Album category, Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest's special project this year is to Save the Polka! Sign their petition at www.oktoberfest.ca