The Mountain View Oktoberfest is more than just beer. Attendees at this weekend’s event can expect a kids’ pretzel-eating contest, live German music, face painting and even a beer belly contest.
“We literally bring out a tape measure, and we just measure the girth of their belly, and whoever has the biggest one wins,” said Ted Kim, owner of Steins Beer Garden at 895 Villa St., and the person to thank for starting the Mountain View Oktoberfest.
Kim opened Steins in downtown Mountain View in March 2013. Noticing Mountain View was one of the few Bay Area cities that didn’t host an Oktoberfest event, he approached the city with the idea to throw the first Mountain View Oktoberfest that year. Initially worried turnout would be low, Kim was happily surprised to see thousands of people showing up. The event was held every year until the pandemic, and this is the first year it will be held since.
“One of the things that sets us apart from other Oktoberfests is that we’ve always made it a priority to serve our beer in glass steins,” Kim said.
Attendees can purchase half-liter or full-liter steins at the event, for $15 or $20, respectively, or bring their own glass stein – standard pint glasses aren’t allowed.
“We’ve had people try to bring 7-Eleven Big Gulp cups and other plastic cups,” Kim said. “That’s something we don’t want to have.”
Beer lovers can fill their steins from a selection of six different German and Austrian beers, plus a special Tropical IPA collaboration between Oakland United Beerworks and Steins Beer Garden.
“We’ve gotten a lot of requests for an IPA, so we’re abiding by that,” Kim said.
The festival doesn’t require an admission ticket and is a family-friendly event – in addition to food vendors, live music, face painting and the kids’ pretzel-eating contest, the festivities will include a 3 p.m. chicken dance.
And for the adults, besides the beer of course, there will be the beer belly contest, a stein-holding contest and, new this year, a marketplace selling handmade crafts, home decor, artwork and more.
“I think a lot of people just think it’s going to be this drunken thing, and it’s not,” Kim said. “We have a lot of families show up, a lot of kids come, the Mountain View PD is here.”
For Kim, the Mountain View Oktoberfest reminds him of why he opened Steins in the first place.
“It really boils down to having a space where people can get together, mingle and just enjoy each other’s company and have a good time,” he said. “That was also part of the inspiration that got me to open Steins Beer Garden – just drinking and eating and having a good time socializing.”
While he doesn’t know how many people will show up for this year’s event, he said 8,000 people attended the 2019 Mountain View Oktoberfest, with 200-250 kegs of beer consumed over two days.
“A lot of the Mountain View community has really embraced the festival, but we have people that we’ve been told drive down from all over the Bay Area to come to this event, which we’re super proud of,” Kim said
The Mountain View Octoberfest is slated 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the area bordered by Villa, Castro, Bryant and Dana streets. For a schedule of events and more information, visit mvoktoberfest.com.
