Welcome to the 41st Annual Galveston Oktoberfest!

Galveston’s premier fall festival – the 41st Annual Island Oktoberfest – returns to historic downtown Galveston, October 27-28, 2023. 

Hosted by First Lutheran Church of Galveston in historic downtown Galveston for 39 years! First Lutheran is Texas’ oldest continual German church and is proud to bring Galveston’s premier fall event to the community free of charge with music, food, children’s rides, arts and crafts, and games!

Island Oktoberfest will open with the tapping of the keg at 5pm on Friday, October 27 and continue until 10pm. The Arts & Crafts inside the Lyceum are open 5pm-9pm. Festival hours on Saturday, October 28, are 11am-10pm, with the Arts & Crafts open from 11am-7pm. 

This fun, family weekend will feature continuous live entertainment on two stages, an expanded menu of authentic German food and libations, Cake Wheel, shopping for fine arts, crafts and gifts in the historic 1860 Lyceum; more fun contests, beer and wine events, and fun, family children’s activities – plus much more. Island Oktoberfest will be held on the grounds of and streets adjacent to First Lutheran Church, 24th and Winnie – in historic downtown Galveston. Admission is free. German costumes encouraged. Again, this year… festival goers can look forward to more of everything … that is German!

Island Oktoberfest, hosted by First Evangelical Lutheran Church and co-sponsored by Del Papa Distributing Company, will open Friday evening with themed-Bier Garten venues – featuring a variety of both German and domestic brews and a variety of German-style wines. Again, this year, Oktoberfest will feature special beer and wine tasting events – paired with a delightful array of appetizers. In addition to great music and dancing, there will be superb food including smoked sausage, bratwurst, and“Wurstabendessen“– a sausage dinner comprised of German-style and Polish-style Wurst with all the traditional German side dishes. This special German Dinner will be available both Friday evening and on Saturday. For a sweet finale, homemade Helmut’s strudel (freshly baked on site), will be offered in addition to a variety of tempting home-made desserts – specially prepared by congregation members from recipes handed down from generation to generation, and additional popular festival treats!

The historic and beautifully-renovated circa 1860 Lyceum will again be open Friday evening and from 10am on Saturday with vendors showcasing exceptional hand-crafted arts, crafts, and gift items for those festival goers eager to get a head start on holiday shopping. Because Island Oktoberfest continues to be one of the vendors’ most enjoyable and popular venues, regular attendees can look forward to shopping at their long-time favorite booths – each featuring holiday and other special gift items. Proceeds from Island Oktoberfest will benefit First Lutheran’s community outreach programs – including FeedGalveston and Fanfare! Lutheran Music Academy.  For more information, call 409.762.8477, or follow the event on Facebook. 

Want to Volunteer? If you or your group is NOT a member of First Lutheran Galveston but would like to volunteer, please contact the church office at 409-762-8477 with questions.

Click Here To Visit The Galveston Oktoberfest Website