Home Bars and Restaurants Vancouver Oktoberfest Beer Festivals

Vancouver Oktoberfest Beer Festivals

September 17, 2023

German-themed beer festivals take place in the Lower Mainland each fall including Oktoberfest events in Vancouver, Surrey and elsewhere.

The fall is definitely the season for beer (that and the summer). So many great beer-themed events happen in September, October and November.

On the North Shore in 2023 there is Vancouver’s North Shore Craft Beer Week which runs from November 2nd until the 14th. There’s also an Oktoberfest event with the Maple Meadows Rotary on September 9th. There are other great beer festivals this fall too including Oktoberfest for Ridge Meadows Hospice on October 20th and a number of events at the Vancouver Austria Club.

See below for details about these and various other similar events. 2024 details for some are to be confirmed.

Click any of the following for information about a specific event venue:

The following events took place in previous years, but might not return in 2023:

Cloverfest Surrey | Harrison Beer Festival | Hastings Racecourse

Oktoberfest Events in the Lower Mainland

Oktoberfest is a German festival traditionally held in late September and early October. The largest and most famous Oktoberfest in the world is the one in Munich, Germany, but ones in Metro Vancouver are pretty fun too!

Oktoberfest events invariably involve copious amounts of beer as well as German-style pub foods like sausages and sauerkraut, not to mention German accordion and polka music. If you like beer and/or dressing up in lederhosen, then Oktoberfest can be a lot of fun!

Men at Alpen Club Oktoberfest — Alpen Club Oktoberfest Celebrations

Austria Vancouver Club

The Austria Vancouver Club hosts Oktoberfest events at their venue at 5851 Westminster Highway in Richmond on the Saturdays of September 30th and October 14th and 28th. Their place is in northwest Richmond just south of Sea Island and the Vancouver International Airport. Their Oktoberfest events include food, music and dancing. All are welcome.

The Austria Vancouver Club has numerous events throughout the year. Check their website or Facebook page for upcoming activities.

To learn more about the club’s Oktoberfest events, and the organization behind it, see our article about Oktoberfest at Austria Vancouver Club or visit the Austria Vancouver Club website.

Austria Vancouver Club Oktoberfest — Oktoberfest at the Austria Vancouver Club

Vancouver’s North Shore Craft Beer Week

Although also not officially marketed as an “Oktoberfest” event, Vancouver’s North Shore Craft Beer Week is a fabulous beer-themed series of events in the fall. In 2023 it runs from November 2nd until the 14th. The Launch Party is on Thursday, November 2nd, at the Pipe Shop in North Vancouver’s Shipyards District. Over the course of the following days there are special events at a variety of breweries in the area.

The North Shore has some fabulous breweries, like Deep Cove Brewery, plus so many more. Vancouver’s North Shore Craft Beer Week is a great excuse to visit the region, explore North Shore parks and nature, and enjoy some of the region’s fine brews!

To learn more about this event visit the Vancouver’s North Shore Craft Beer Week website.

Beer Sampling at the Pipe Shop — Vancouver’s North Shore Craft Beer Week

Oktoberfest by Maple Meadows Rotary

Another Oktoberfest event is organized by the Golden Ears Sunrise, Meadowridge and Haney Rotary Clubs. In 2023 the event takes place on Saturday, September 9th. It’s held at Golden Ears Cheesecrafters in Maple Ridge. The dining establishment is located at 21973 132 Avenue, and the event runs from 4:00 until 11:00 pm.

This event is for adults only. Tickets are about $20 per person in 2023. There is live entertainment, dancing and lots of food to enjoy as well.

For more information, see the Maple Meadows Rotary website.

Oktoberfest for the Ridge Meadows Hospice Society

The Oktoberfest fundraising event for the Ridge Meadows Hospice Society takes place on Wednesday, October 20th in 2023. It runs from 6:00 to 11:30 pm at Pitt Meadows Heritage Hall.

General admission tickets cost $75 each. The event includes a traditional German dinner, a 50-50 draw, auction, live music, dancing and more. Proceeds from the event benefit the Ridge Meadows Hospice Society which is a great cause.

For more information, see the Ridge Meadows Hospice Society website.

Vancouver Harvest Haus

Harvest Haus used to be Vancouver’s largest and arguably most impressive Oktoberfest event. It used to take place in a giant tent “Festzelte” structure that held up to 1000 people and featured German food, beer, live music and other entertainment.

In 2023, Harvest Haus happens on September 29th and 30th at the PNE Forum. Regular tickets are priced between $35 and $80 depending on where you stand or sit.

For more information about the Vancouver Oktoberfest event, click Harvest Haus.

Harvest Haus Stage — Live music at Harvest Haus

Parallel 49

The Parallel 49 Brewing Company hosts an annual Oktoberfest event at 1950 Triumph Street in East Vancouver. The celebration usually features a large beer garden, traditional German dishes and live entertainment. Oktoberfest outfits are encouraged and there are daily giveaways as well.

In 2023 the event begins on September 18th and runs daily until October 9th.

For more information about this Oktoberfest event, visit the Parallel 49 Brewing Company Instagram page.

Alpen Plattlers at Vancouver Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest at the Vancouver Alpen Club

The Vancouver Alpen Club is a local cultural organization at 4875 Victoria Drive. They usually host an Oktoberfest event and boast the largest selection of German beers and wines in Vancouver. The event here is for folk ages 19+ and, as should be expected, it features German beer, food and music.

Dates for the club’s Oktoberfest Vancouver event in 2022 were October 21st and 22nd. Hours on both days were from 6:00 pm until 12:00 am. General admission for the Vancouver Alpen Club event were about $35 plus taxes. Tickets with reserved seating cost about $45 last year.

In years when the event does take place, activities include beer drinking (of course), dancing, singing, German games and the optional wearing of lederhosen and other traditional German attire.

The Vancouver Alpen Club venue has a capacity of about 350 people and most years all nights sell out (although a small number of tickets are still usually available at the door).

Unfortunately, due to ongoing renovations, the next event will likely only take place in 2025. For more information about the event from previous years, click Oktoberfest Vancouver.

Past Vancouver Oktoberfest Events

The following events have taken place in the Lower Mainland in past years (prior to 2022). They may or may not take place again in the future.

Cloverfest in Surrey

(Note: To our knowledge this event didn’t happen in 2022. Its status for 2023 is TBC.)

Cloverfest was a fundraising Oktoberfest event in Surrey that was put on by the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce and the Cloverdale Rotary Club.

In 2018 the event took place on Saturday, October 13th, from 4 until 9 pm at Shannon Hall at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds. The address was 17607 60th Avenue in Surrey.

Cloverfest didn’t happen in 2019, 2020 or 2021, and it doesn’t look like it took place in 2022 either. Hopefully the event returns in the future.

Tickets for Cloverfest in 2018 were $25 in advance, $40 for VIP tickets and $35 for regular admission at the door. The price for general admission included 2 beverage-tasting tokens, a souvenir sampling cup and a fun evening with live music. VIP admission included 10 beverage tasting tokens, a sampling cup, priority line access and a fun evening with live music.

For more information click Cloverfest.

Harrison Beer Festival

(Note: It doesn’t look like this event happened in 2022. 2023 details are TBC.)

The Harrison Beer Festival is a community event that takes place in late October at St. Alice Hall beside the Harrison Hot Springs Resort at 100 Esplanade Avenue. The popular 2-day event includes a Cask Night, Beer Festival and Oktoberfest Dance.

The 2021 festival was cancelled and it didn’t happen in 2022 either. Hopefully it’ll return in a future year, although exact details are to be confirmed.

In 2019 the Harrison Beer Festival took place on the Friday and Saturday of October 25th and 26th. The event appears to have still taken place in 2020, although in a different format from usual.

In years when it does take place, and in its full format, the festival includes a Friday Cask Night, a Saturday Beer Festival, and an Oktoberfest Dance.

Oktoberfest at Hastings Racecourse

(Note: This event likely didn’t happen in 2022. Hopefully it returns in the future.)

Oktoberfest celebrations have taken place on a Saturday at Hastings Racecourse at the PNE. In 2019 it happened on Saturday, September 28th, from 1 to 6 pm in the Eclipse Lounge. Because of COVID-19, the event didn’t happen in 2020 and likely didn’t return in 2021 or 2022 either.

In years when it does take place, this event is for adults age 19+ and includes beer, food, horse racing and music.

Tickets in 2018 cost about $50. Tickets in 2019 cost around $33 including online fees. For that you got a souvenir beer stein, 2 drink tickets, 1 food voucher, $5 to bet and access to the live horse racing.

With your ticket in 2019 you also got access to a couple of exclusive Oktoberfest sitting areas. One was the German Haus where there is live music, a selection of sausages and a variety of craft beers (including a pumpkin one) for sale. The other area was the Wine Haus where you could find wine for purchase.

The venue for the Oktoberfest event is the Hastings Racecourse at the PNE at 188 North Renfrew Street which you can get to via Gate 6 or Gate 9.

For more details about the event and venue, see the Hastings Racecourse website.