Vancouver Oktoberfest at the Vancouver Alpen Club in October is the Lower Mainland’s original and arguably most authentically German Oktoberfest event.

It’s also one of the most fun and festive Oktoberfest events in BC.

Note: The Oktoberfest event likely won’t happen again for a few years, at least not at the club’s venue, because of major renovations to the site. In 2025, however, to celebrate the club’s 90th anniversary, and to raise money for the site’s redevelopment, there is a fundraising event at the Cultch Theatre in Vancouver. See below for details.

For a list of other Oktoberfest events happening elsewhere in the Lower Mainland, see our article about Vancouver Oktoberfest Events. To learn about the event at the Vancouver Alpen Club in past years, continue reading.

90 YEARS VAC IN JUNE

The Vancouver Alpen Club celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2025 with a party on Friday, June 27th. The event happens in Jim Green Hall at the Cultch Theatre at 1885 Venables Street in Vancouver from 6:00 until 9:00 pm. There is also a free, family-friendly event earlier in the afternoon that day, from 3:00 until 5:00 pm.

The evening’s activities on June 27th include live entertainment, a silent auction and a raffle. Admission to the adults-only event in the evening costs between $15 and $90 depending on whether you just want a quick visit or if you also want food, a drink and/or to make an extra donation. For tickets to the event click 90 Years VAC 2025.

Vancouver Oktoberfest

Vancouver Oktoberfest at the Alpen Club was a series of weekend beer festival-style events. They featured German food, German beer, live music and dancing in October.

The festival used to be on the first three or so Fridays and Saturdays of October. In 2019 it took place on the weekends of October 4-5, 11-12 and 18-19. Because of the high demand, they also added Friday October 25 as an extra day.

In 2021 the event happened in a modified format on October 29-30. The 2022 event happened in a similar format on October 21-22. The event ran from 6:00 pm until midnight on both days.

You could tell that the Vancouver Oktoberfest event was a pretty good rendition of the original world-famous Munich festival. The majority of people attending are of Germanic descent. Yes, those Germans like to have fun, they love their beers, and they celebrate the season seriously at the Alpen Club!

Because of the redevelopment of the club’s location, the Oktoberfest event hasn’t happened since. No events, for that matter, will take place there again until the renovations and construction are completed.

For details about the Vancouver Alpen Club’s Oktoberfest celebrations, see below. For information about other similar events in the Lower Mainland, click Vancouver Oktoberfest Events.

Having Fun at Vancouver Oktoberfest — Celebrating Oktoberfest at the Alpen Club

Venue Location

The Vancouver Oktoberfest event took at the Vancouver Alpen Club in a large and festively-decorated beer hall-type room. The venue’s address is 4875 Victoria Drive. It’s just south of Kingsway and a 5-minute drive east of Mountain View Cemetery.

In the hall there were rows of tables, a large open dance floor, a bar at one end of the room, a stage for the band, a room where food was served and an area with a balcony overlooking the hall upstairs.

TIP: Upstairs there was a photo booth most years where you could put on silly hats and other accessories and get your photo taken for free with your friends.

Admission

Vancouver Oktoberfest was a beer hall, adults-only event, so participants needed to be age 19+. Admission in 2022 cost about $35 plus taxes, or $45 for reserved seating.

Dancing at Alpen Club Oktoberfest — Dancing in the Alpen Club’s Oktoberfest Beer Hall

What to Expect

At the Vancouver Oktoberfest event in years when it happens, expect to see a fairly large hall with rows of long tables. There is a good-sized dance floor and lots of merry people drinking from beer steins and having a great time.

At the event a fair number of participants are in lederhosen (for the men) and dirndl dresses (for the ladies). The majority of folk though are in their everyday clothes. The beer hall is festively decorated and the band is amazing.

At Vancouver Oktoberfest, as the evening progresses, the dance floor starts to fill up, the energy in the room gets thoroughly festive and before long you feel like you’re in a real Munich beer hall!

Vancouver Oktoberfest attracts a crowd of mixed ages (but primarily in the 25 to 55 age range). It’s a favourite place for German Canadians. The venue holds up to 350 people during the event most years.

Live Entertainment

The live entertainment at the Vancouver Alpen Club’s event is excellent. 2022 was likely no exception.

There is usually a bit of DJ time at Vancouver Oktoberfest, but most of the music is live. The Continentals performed in previous years and their music ranged from traditional German beer festival tunes to famous hits from the 1930s to the 1970s and beyond.

At past Vancouver Oktoberfest events the Alpen Plattlers provided an entertaining dance performance mid-evening. It’s a fun, high-energy show and a great addition to the night when it happens.

German Food and Drink

The Vancouver Alpen Club Oktoberfest event usually features a good selection of authentic German food and drink. There’s schnitzel, bratwurst, pork hocks, Bavarian meatloaf, sauerkraut and pretzels. One of our favourite menu items there is the veggie strudel, and the Austrian kaiserschmarn dessert is delicious!

Menu prices are all fairly reasonable. A few years ago the pretzels were about $3.50, bratwurst on a bun with sauerkraut was $9.50, and the schnitzel with potato salad cost $12.00.

Beers on tap likely include Erdinger Weibbeir (a white wheat beer), Erdinger Dunkel (a dark brown ale) and Erdinger Festbier (a seasonal beer brewed for the traditional German autumn festival of Volkfest). All three are delicious, from Germany and cost about $8 per stein in a recent year.

Other beverages at the bar included Krombacher Pils, Ayinger Festbier and a selection of German wines, all for around $8, plus Jagermeister and a plum brandy for $6-ish, and soft drinks for around $2.

Bar Maid at Vancouver Oktoberfest — Oktoberfest Bar at the Vancouver Alpen Club

What Happened in Recent Years

Unfortunately, the Alpen Club didn’t host their annual event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They did, however, offer a special Oktoberfest Takeout Package for people wanting to celebrate with traditional food and drink at home.

Oktoberfest Takeout Packages cost between $75 and $270 depending on what and for how many people you were ordering for. They could be ordered and then picked up at the Alpen Club from Thursdays to Sundays between 3:00 and 8:00 pm up until the end of October in 2020.

Menu items included cans of German beer, a “Jägerschnitzel Meal” and an assortment of traditional German goodies. The packages also included at least one souvenir Vancouver Alpen Club stein glass.

We ordered a two-person package the other day and it was delicious! In addition to generous servings of schnitzel, ham, sausages and German pork hock, plus a side of sauerkraut and other toppings, our package included four large cans of Krombacher beer, a jar of Hengstenberg cornichons pickles and some Landjaeger sausage. For dessert there was a package of Manner-brand hazelnut cream wafers and some German chocolates. It was all so delicious!

The 2021 Oktoberfest event took place at the Deutsches Haus Restaurant. Reservations were available online and the evening events featured German food and beer, along with live music and games. The 2022 event happened in a similar format.

About the Alpen Club

Founded in 1935, the Vancouver Alpen Club is a private club and cultural organization that has its own German restaurant – the Deutsches Haus – that’s open to the public.

The Alpen Club and its German restaurant are located at 4875 Victoria Drive in Vancouver.