By Lauren Herber, Staff Writer
This past weekend (October 9-11), Four Peaks Brewing Company hosted their annual Oktoberfest festival. The festival was held at Tempe Beach Park and was a family-friendly event that had something to offer to people of all ages. There was a carnival featuring games and rides for younger children and live music and beer tents for adults. The music lineup included local bands that played all different kinds of music, ranging from country to traditional German Oktoberfest music to rock ‘n’ roll. The Bier and Wine Garden section of the festival hosted several different tents that offered beers from all around the world. The festival also offered a variety of different foods, including traditional fair foods like funnel cakes, turkey legs, and ice cream as well as special German foods such as sausage, pretzels, and strudel.
The festival offered free admission, and the foods and beverages were reasonably priced. The location of the event, Tempe Beach Park, is a beautiful spot right by the Tempe Town Lake, which offers boat rides and paddle board rentals and is a great place to stroll while sipping your German lager. The festival hours were from 5 PM-12 AM on Friday, 10 AM-12 AM on Saturday, and 10 AM-6PM on Sunday, but the festivities didn’t have to end there: the Oktoberfest event was located right off of Mill Avenue, one of downtown Tempe’s most bustling streets that is chock full of restaurants and bars. Other fun events that the festival hosted included yoga, a Wiener Dog race, and an Oktoberfest-style foot race in which participants ran wearing dirndls and lederhosen. Don’t miss next year’s Four Peaks Brewing Company Oktoberfest, scheduled for October 2016!