It’s time once again to slip into lederhosen and the dirndls and embrace your inner Bavarian. That’s right: Oktoberfest is here! San Diego heartily celebrates this German beer and sausage-centered tradition, and the Sofia Hotel gives you a calm, comfy base camp during the proceedings.

The Ocean Beach Oktoberfest will be thrumming away beside the Pacific on October 11 and 12. The Friday schedule runs from 4 to 10 PM, while Saturday’s full-day affair’s underway between 10 AM and 10 PM.

Dressing the Part

There’s no dress code, of course, but it’s certainly a blast to swaddle yourself in traditional Bavarian festival garb—trachten—for the Oktoberfest fun. Ladies typically wear the iconic dirndl—a sleeveless dress—over a (high- or low-cut) trachtenbluse blouse. Men don lederhosen, historically rendered from goat hide, as well as high socks and white shirts; suspenders, vests, or jackets complete the outfit.

You don’t need to spend a fortune on an Oktoberfest outfit, and you can certainly be creative in mimicking the classic look on the cheap.

The Rundown

Friday evening sees the semifinals of the Miss Oktoberfest competition as well as the culmination of the Beer Garden Band Slam, a cover/tribute band contest.

Saturday’s jampacked entertainment includes the morning Brat Trot Beach Run—an Ocean Beach Community Foundation benefit for youth athletics—and a slew of appropriately themed competitions, from stein-holding to the sausage toss. Miss Oktoberfest will also be crowned.

All throughout you’ll enjoy plenty of music and, of course, loads of good food—not least a delectable variety of sausages—and beverages. Beer-lovers, naturally, will be in exactly the right place (both German and American brews will be among those generously poured) but non-drinkers have options as well.

Oktoberfest at the Sofia

Guests at the Sofia Hotel are well-poised to join the fun. We’re only a few blocks from the downtown shuttle pickup that can transport you responsibly to and from Ocean Beach Oktoberfest. If you happen to be checking in or out on the day you’d like to attend the festival, we’re happy to hold your luggage for you.

Ocean Beach Oktoberfest: It’s not Munich, but, then again, Munich doesn’t have palm trees framing the beer tents!

Photo credit: Ninalngenkamp