A seasonal celebration focused on beer is planned in Madison Village. The 2024 Madison Oktoberfest will take place from 1 to 7 p.m. Oct. 5 in the Village Park, located at West Main and River streets. Sponsored by the Madison Joint Recreation District, the festival features beer, whiskey, food, music and games. This event is for people age 21 and older and will be held rain or shine. “The good thing is, it looks like it’s going to be sunny and about 70 degrees, and we’re looking forward to it,” said Tim Sizemore, a recreation district board member who spearheads the annual effort to organize and conduct Oktoberfest. Beer lovers will have various brews to select from at this year’s event. Double Wing Brewing Co. of Madison Township will be serving its Oktoberfest beer. Another local participant, Madison Brewing Co. of Madison Village, will feature a beer yet to be announced. Hofbrauhaus Cleveland, which is also a food vendor at Madison Oktoberfest, will have three of its beers on tap: Original Lager, Hefeweizen and Seasonal. Superior Beverage Group will bring a refrigerated trailer to the event, and have beers on tap that include: • Great Lakes Brewing Co. — Oktoberfest • Samuel Adams — Oktoberfest • Columbus Brewing Co. — Festbier • Sierra Nevada — Festbier • Southern Tier Brewing Co. — Cleveland Pumking For visitors who enjoy whiskey either by itself or in mixed drinks, Lake Erie Distillery of Willoughby and Doc Howard’s Whiskey Distillery of Perry Township both will be serving up some of their offerings. Anyone who works up an appetite during the event can check out the menus at food trucks or trailers operated by Hofbrauhaus Cleveland, Pitmaster Dad and Mary’s Urban Kitchen. Festival guests will have the opportunity to play games such as cornhole, Jumbo Jenga and Jumbo Connect 4. In the spirit of Oktoberfest, there also will be some German-inspired activities, including Masskrugstemmen and Baum Schlagen. Masskrugstemmen, which loosely translates to “beer-stein holding,” is an endurance contest associated with Bavaria, which is the largest state in Germany by area. Sizemore explained how the contest is conducted. “You fill 1-liter mugs full with beer,” he said. “And then each of the participants, their job is to pick up their mug and hold their arm straight out parallel with the ground. You’ve got to hold it straight out in front of you, and the person who holds it the longest is the winner.” Baum Schlagen is played with a piece of wood sliced from a log, which is about 30 inches in diameter and approximately 6 inches thick. The piece of wood is then placed on a table or platform, which standing contestants gather around. Nails are then hammered a short distance into the wood, so most of the nail is left exposed and standing. Each contestant then takes a turn tapping their nail with a pointed end of a mason’s hammer. “And the hammer continues to passed around in a circle until one of the participants has it knocked all the way flush with the top of the wood,” Sizemore said, explaining how the winner is determined. Madison Oktoberfest also will offer musical entertainment by The HEAT CLE Dance Band from 4 to 7 p.m. General admission tickets, which can be purchased online through the zeffy.com link on the Madison Oktoberfest Facebook page, are $10 per person. These tickets allow guests to enjoy the band, play games, and visit food trucks and trailers, but do not include drink purchases. Drink tickets are $5 each. One ticket will get the holder a full beer, or three small samples; while two tickets are required to buy one mixed drink. “Full cups of beer will be poured into 16-ounce cups, samples into 3-ounce cups and mixed drinks size determined by the distillery participants,” the electronic order form stated. When the recreation district held its inaugural beer-themed celebration in 2016, the event was called Madison Septemberfest. Madison Joint Recreation District uses funds raised at Oktoberfest to provide recreational opportunities and activities for people of all ages throughout the Madison area.