Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is an annual German-heritage festival in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Based on the original Munich Oktoberfest, it is billed as the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the United States [1] and second largest in the world. [2] First held in 1976, as of 2023 it hosted over 700,000 attendees each year. [3] [4] It is held along six blocks of Downtown Cincinnati. [5]
The festival for years was held on 5th Street. In 2016 the festival moved to 3rd Street to clear room for Cincinnati Streetcar construction. [6] In 2021 it expanded to four days and in 2023 returned to 5th Street. [7]
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati claimed the world record for the largest Chicken Dance in 1994, with over 48,000 participants.
The festival includes the World Brat Eating Championship [8] [9] [10] and also the Running of the Wieners, in which dachshunds and dachshund mixes ("wiener dogs") race in 75-foot heats, wearing hot dog costumes. [9] [11] [12]
In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerts were virtual instead of live. In both 2020 and 2021, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati was recognized as the world's largest Oktoberfest because Munich's Oktoberfest was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic two years in a row. [13] [14]
Cincinnati has a large percentage of the population with some German ancestry, and there are multiple Oktoberfests held in and around the downtown area as well as outlying suburbs. [15] [16]
Cincinnati's Germania Society has held an Oktoberfest since 1971. [17] [15] The Donauschwaben Society also holds an Oktoberfest. [17] [15]
Covington, Kentucky, directly across the Ohio River from downtown Cincinnati and considered part of Greater Cincinnati, has since 1979 held an Oktoberfest in its Mainstrasse Village. [18] [15] Newport, Kentucky, also directly across the river from Cincinnati, holds an annual Oktoberfest. [17] [15]