Across Bellingham’s breweries, residents celebrated beer in a German fashion during September’s Oktoberfest celebrations.
Fun fact: Oktoberfest events take place in September to take advantage of the warmer weather and extra hours of daylight. The namesake festival, in Bavaria, spanned five days in October to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen, according to the Culinary Institute of America. But it didn’t involve beer! That part of modern Oktoberfest celebrations can be attributed to the tradition of finishing beer brewed the year before in time for harvest, when Bavarians would brew new batches heading into the fall and winter, the Institute says.
Nowadays, Oktoberfest celebrations often include costume contests, stein-holding competitions, live music and, of course, plenty of German lager.