Wilkommen in Leavenworth 
What’s the next best thing to being in Munich for Oktoberfest? Leavenworth, Washington! A small town modeled on a Bavarian village, located in Central Washington State in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Hosting the Nutcracker Museum, Oktoberfest celebration, and Christmas Lighting Festival, it’s no wonder Leavenworth is named the Ultimate Holiday Town USA.
Growing up just 10-miles southeast of Leavenworth but moving before the legal drinking age of 21, I never experienced many of the local festivals in the area. Oktoberfest being one of them.
Leavenworth’s Oktoberfest festival is ranked as one of the top celebrations in the United States with attendance well over 10,000. Oktoberfest is traditionally a beer, folk festival held for 16 days from late September to the first weekend in October. It is celebrated with live music, German food, arts and crafts, and of course, beer! The Leavenworth Oktoberfest is held the first three weekends in October. Luckily, I was around this year to attend!
I misread the website and we arrived an hour early. We found ourselves at The Danish Bakery on Front Street eating warm pretzels dipped in cheese. We walked down Front Street wandering into shops filled with Bavarian tchotchkes, nutcrackers, beer steins, music boxes, holiday decorations, soaps, and boutique clothing and jewelry.
Yelping My Way Across the United States: Sulla Vita
Did you really think this foodie would be satisfied with just a pretzel? Nope. We ended up at Sulla Vita. What a beautiful restaurant offering a wood-fired oven and Euro-inspired theme. Their menu is hand-crafted with Mediterranean-influenced cuisine. Our waiter allowed me to sample a few drafts and I ended up selecting the Leffe Blonde, Belgian Abbey.
With a small menu, it wasn’t too difficult to come up with our top three choices for small bites. We ordered the following as pictured left to right in the picture below. Brussels with House Pesto and Figs, Stuffed Mushrooms- Chorizo and Sharp White Cheddar and Dates- Gorgonzola-Stuffed, Wrapped in Speck. And let me just tell you, savory, flavorsome, delectable, scrumptious, heavenly are just tips of the iceberg when describing the cuisine brought to our table. I was impressed with the portions, price, service, and overall ambiance of Sulla Vita. Outside the restaurant, the line for entry into Oktoberfest begun to form. I chugged the last of my beers and we made our way outside to wait, bundled up in line.
Prost! (Cheers)
My only other Oktoberfest experience was in Miami and we ended up at a sushi restaurant drinking sake. I wasn’t much of a beer drinker in college unless you count Corona on spring break. My palate for beer has developed a bit. I am still not in favor of Bratwurst. I don’t see that changing anytime soon, hence eating Mediterranean cuisine before Oktoberfest.
Making our way into the venue, there were 3 main beer stands, a handful of food vendors, 4 entertainment halls filled with local and German bands, and arts and craft vendors. After grabbing a beer, we head to Festhalle. Finding a bench in the front for prime Schuhplattler and people watching. (Yes I had to look that up, Schuhplattler is a traditional style of Bavarian folk dancing).
Being that this was my first true Oktoberfest experience, there were a few things that I was taken aback by. The first being the amount of people dressed in Bavarian Dirndl, Lederhosen, and suspenders, carrying their custom steins.
Internal Question: Do girls really have Dirndl’s just sitting in their closet for a beer festival once a year?
Internal thoughts: Yes, yes they do JJ, you have 2-3 Halloween costumes per year, no judgment.
My aunt also brought to my attention the fact that many in attendance are of German descent. They may attend other cultural events throughout the year where their Lederhosen and Dirndl’s come in handy. This is probably true for the baby boomers and gen x’s who wore a very traditional costume. While the millennials, on the other hand, sported attire closer to a Halloween costume store. I guess they can re-wear it in a few weeks.
Secondly, I was shocked to see how many families with small children were present. The fact that the website considers it a family event, while it’s essentially a beer festival, is amazing. I couldn’t get over this aspect. But the kids were super cute dressed in their Lederhosen and clogs chasing each other around on the dance floor.
Soaking up the music (and beer) we head over to another hall to experience a different band before finally deciding I had had enough German music and beer to last me…well, probably forever. Grabbing yet another snack and taking a few selfies, we slowly made our way home.
Though Oktoberfest is not necessarily my cup of tea, er stein of beer, it was an enjoyable and unique experience in a true Bavarian village; plus Leavenworth is always a charming little town to explore.
Check out the posts below for more things to do in Central Washington!
