Oktober-festivities

What's an Oktoberfest without some fest? Technically, it's just Oktober… but we wanted to make sure it's way more than that, so we've designed some delightful activities, scratch that -- make it Oktober-festivities -- for you and yours to partake in. Fun!

Authentic Ceremonial Oktoberfest Keg Tap with Dick Yuengling

Oct. 5, 8pm

Yuengling Festhalle

The Oktoberfest Skills Challenge

Oct. 6, Noon-5pm

Presented by D.G. Yuengling & Son and Banko Beverage Company

It's man against man, and woman against woman, as area bars come together for an afternoon of hard-fought, fun-filled competition. Watch as contestants roll 30-pound beer barrels, compete in a 50-yard dash while carrying mugs filled with Yuengling beer and use every muscle in their body to pull a 40,000-pound Yuengling beer truck, all in an effort to capture the coveted Yuengling Traveling Trophy (and bragging rights for the next 12 months)!

Participating Bars include: Joe's Tavern, Machs Gute, Molly's Irish Grille & Sports Pub, Pizza Como, PJ Whelihan's, Roosevelt's 21st, Sotto Santi, Starters Riverport, The Steel Pub, AND The Tally-Ho.

The winner of the Oktoberfest Bar Skills Challenge will display the 2012 Oktoberfest Skills Challenge trophy!

Miss Oktoberfest Contest

Oct. 6

Presented by D.G. Yuengling & Son, Banko Beverage Company and The Morning Call

Join us as we crown the first-ever Miss Oktoberfest! Online voting is now closed! The winner will be crowned during the Oktoberfest Skills Challenge. Come on out on Oct. 6, because audience vote plays a big role in the competition as well. The Miss Oktoberfest winner will take home a cash prize and also serve as the grand marshal of the Oktoberfest Parade Oct. 14.

Comedy: Garfunkel and Oates

Oct. 6, 7-8:30pm

Free with Oktoberfest pass, Musikfest Café presented by Yuengling

Garfunkel and Oates is a Los Angeles based comedy/folk duo made up of actresses Riki Lindhome from The Last House on the Left, Changeling, and My Best Friend's Girl, and Kate Micucci (originally from Nazareth, PA) from Scrubs, and When in Rome. {visit website}

Search and Rescue Demonstrations

Oct. 7, 3-4pm

Dave from Consummate K-9 Training will be doing search and rescue demonstrations. Dave has extensive experience in all fields of dog training. He has personally worked with and attended numerous seminars of some of the leading behaviorists and working dog trainers throughout the US and Europe. He is a registered professional trainer himself and has made the study of canine behavior a lifetime endeavor. {visit website}

Dachshund Races

Oct. 13, 1pm

Prizes for provided by Whisker Biscuits! 1st and 2nd prize of each race will receive a great doggie bag. Grand prize winners will be taking something extra special home. Every dog will go home with a small prize. Registration includes two (2) admission tickets to Oktoberfest.

The annual running of the wiener dogs is back, in this fun spectacle-to-end-all-spectacles... Watch in awe as we release the dachshunds! Register your pup on active.com

Middle Earth Studios, Interactive Children's Theater

Oct. 13, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm

Middle-earth Studios is dedicated to enriching the lives and imaginations of children through interactive children's theater and storytelling.

Oktoberfest Parade

Oct. 14, 12:30pm

Oktoberfest goes out in style with a parade featuring a salute to area Veterans and the Oktoberfest Marching Band Showcase. You'll want to arrive early to get a great seat for what is sure to become an Oktoberfest tradition.

Yuengling Pairing Lunches

Oct. 7 and 14, Noon

Tickets: $75 (includes admission to Oktoberfest) SOLD OUT

At the Oktoberfest pairing lunches, guests will enjoy culinary creations designed exclusively for the event by ArtsQuest Center Executive Chef Chris Nguyen including weinerschnitzel & sauerbraten, knockwurst & bratwurst, char-grilled shrimp & scallops, and more. Each tapas will be served with a Yuengling beer carefully chosen by Jennifer Yuengling to complement and enhance the food's flavors. Beers that will be sampled include Yuengling Lager, Light Lager, Premium, Light, Porter, Black & Tan, Oktoberfest and Lord Chesterfield Ale. During the event, Yuengling and Callahan will talk about the characteristics and brewing processes unique to each beer, as well as the rich history of D.G. Yuengling & Son, the oldest and largest American owned brewer in the U.S. .

The complete Pairing Lunch menu includes:

• Barbequed Pork and Chicken with Mashed Yams and Apple Cider Slaw
• Char-Grilled Shrimp and Scallops with Butternut Squash Puree and Braised Peppers with Balsamic Reduction
• Weinerschnitzel and Sauerbraten with Herb Spaetzle and Red Cabbage
• Grilled Knockwurst and Bratwurst with Warm German Potato Salad
• Sweet Petite Apple Strudel with Fresh Vanilla Cream
• Regular and decaffeinated coffee and hot herbal tea will also be available

• Oct. 7, Noon ~ Hosted by Jennifer Yuengling of D.G Yuengling & Son. SOLD OUT
• Oct. 14, Noon ~ Hosted by Yuengling lead brewer John Callahan. SOLD OUT

Daily Happenings at Oktoberfest

Giveaways

Daily

Free giveaways to the first 500-1,000 people in the gates each day.

• Friday, 10/5 – Yuengling Koozie – first 500 patrons 21 years of age & up
• Saturday, 10/6 – Service Electric Dirndl T-shirts – first 500 women 18 years & up
• Sunday, 10/7 – PNC Bank Tote Bags – first 500 Patrons 18 years & up
• Friday, 10/12 – Oktoberfest Pitchers provided by ArtsQuest – first 500 patrons 21 years & up
• Saturday, 10/13 – Service Electric Lederhosen T-shirts – first 500 men 18 years & up
• Sunday, 10/14 - MINI of Allentown - Yo-Yos - first 500 Patrons

Official Oktoberfest Song

Ich! Ich Liebe! Ich Liebe Dich, Yuengling!

Let's come together in the shadow of the Steel, And celebrate our Valley with people far and near. From Count von Zinzendorf to the youngest kleines kind. Everyone in Bethlehem is our new best friend.

So raise your glass up high, In the Bethlehem sky. A toast for all to sing. May our taps never run dry of Yuengling.

Let's come together in the shadow of the Steel, And celebrate our Valley with people far and near. From Count von Zinzendorf to the youngest kleines kind. Everyone in Bethlehem is our new best friend.

Kastner's Oktoberfest Players

More fun than a goat playing Twister... more ridiculous than pre-gaming at the opera… more stupendous than yodeling at the Grand Canyon, feast your eyes, ears and hearts upon Kastner's Oktoberfest Players!

Assembled from far and wide, this completely ficitious group of traveling actors, minstrels and goofballs scour the globe looking to bring fun to every Oktoberfest they can get their hands on! 2012 is their first time in Bethlehem and they'll be traversing our Oktoberfest grounds bringing joyful and ridiculous revelry to all in attendance. Get your picture taken with them, have them teach you the official Oktoberfest Bethlehem song and make sure you head down to Spielplatz at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks to join them in our Oktoberfest games of skill!

Games

Our Oktoberfest wouldn't be complete without a smattering of whimsical games that you probably wouldn't play anywhere but at an Oktoberfest! Check your inhibitions at the door and celebrate the harvest with our crazy fun games and challenges! Games played at Spielplatz at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks.

• Barrel Roll – Teams of two races to roll a beer barrel along our course... each player can only use one hand! Best time wins!
• Stein Race – Think you've got what it takes to carry six "steins" filled with brew along our course… without spilling any?
• Giant Twister – Yes, that Twister... but on a crazy-large scale

Game schedules and registration will be available shortly!

Das Spielplatz Gameshow Spectacular

At the top of every hour, Kastner's Oktoberfest Players will lead guests in wacky gameshow challenges on the stage at Spielplatz. Test your trivia, spelling and gameshow skills with a variety of ridiculous games... you could even win some prizes, so what's not to love?

• Das Cliffer Hanger – Our LIVE ACTION version on The Price is Right's popular game "Cliffhanger"
• German spelling challenges
• German/Oktoberfest/Bethlehem trivia

Rides

We will have a number of amusement rides this year including the Vertigo (an a swing that takes you 80' in the air), a Ferris Wheel and a classic Merry-Go-Round. We will also have a rock climbing wall and a Bounce House for the kids. Rides will be priced between $3 and $8.

Kids Activities

Kids activities will include arts and crafts, hay maze, rides and games. Also on Oct. 13th Middle Earth Studios interactive theater will perform at 2,4,and 6 that day in the kids area.

Glassblowing

The Banana Factory Glass Blowers will be on site doing demos and selling hand blown glass steins, mugs and other items made at the Banana Factory Glass Shop. Please stop by to see them work and sign up for classes. Located near the entrance to the Visitor's Center facing PNC Plaza.

Alphorns

Keep an eye... .make that an ear... out for these strolling musicians. Saturday and Sunday 1-5pm.

Contests

MINI of Allentown will be giving away a pair of MINI of Allentown Steel Terrace tickets to a Musikfest 2013 show of winner's choice. Stop by their setup/booth to on the Air Products Town Square to enter!

RMG Insurance – Think Community!

For the first time, RMG Insurance – Think Community! Introduces community days at Oktoberfest. Stop by and learn about the nonprofits in your community!

• Operation Homefront – Friday, October 5
  On Friday October 5, Operation Homefront PA/DE will be at Oktoberfest to create awareness about the struggles of the military and the type of assistance we provide by helping them. Operation Homefront will be handing out brochures and other small items and asking for donations from those folks who ask how they can help. {visit website}
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation – Sunday, October 7
  JDRF will be at ArtsQuest on Sunday, October 7th from noon until 9 p.m.. Join us for a day filled with fun children's activities, free balloons and free give aways for everyone. Last year, JDRF raised over $115,000,000 for research to find a cure for type 1 diabetes. Stop by our booth and find out how you can get involved with our fight to find a cure for type 1 diabetes. (T1D) {visit website}
• Not For Sale – Friday, October 12
  On Friday, October 12th Not For Sale-Pennsylvania will be providing information on human trafficking and modern day slavery via handouts and a Powerpoint presentation. Human trafficking is a growing global concern affecting approx. 27-30 million individuals around the world. It is a crisis seen right here in our own backyards, hidden right in front of us. NFS-PA is a registered non-profit organization working tirelessly to bring an end to slavery once and for all.{visit website}
• Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley – Restore -Saturday, October 13
  Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley/ReStore will have educational activities for children sharing it's vision: A world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat for Humanity works in partnership with people everywhere, from all walks of life, to develop communities with people in need by building and renovating houses so that there are decent houses in decent communities in which every person can experience God's love and can live and grow into all that God intends. Habitat for Humanity defines adequate shelter as simple, decent, affordable housing. {visit website}
• Coco Foundation – Sunday, October 14
  On Sunday, October 14th, the Coco Foundation will be providing face painting, fun pictures to be colored for pediatric cancer patients, and a spinning wheel with cancer awareness prizes. The Coco Foundation is a registered non-profit organization that works hard to raise funds for pediatric cancer research, to give financial and emotional support to families with children going through cancer treatments, to raise awareness about the disease, and the importance of bone marrow, cord blood, and blood donations. {visit website}

Kastner's Oktoberfest Players



More fun than a goat playing Twister... more ridiculous than pre-gaming at the opera… more stupendous than yodeling at the Grand Canyon, feast your eyes, ears and hearts upon Kastner’s Oktoberfest Players!

Oktoberfest VIP Pricing

Yuengling Pairing Lunches Oct. 7
$75 SOLD OUT
Yuengling Pairing Lunches Oct. 14
$75 SOLD OUT

Oktoberfest Pricing

 
Advance
 
At Gate
Public Single Day
N/A
At gate
$10
ArtsQuest Member Public Single Day
N/A
At gate
$8
Kids 6-12
N/A
At gate
$5