50th annual Oktoberfest at Dayton Art Institute kicks off with some changes

DAYTON — The 50th annual Oktoberfest at the Dayton Art Institute is set today, and the museum announced changes have been made to help ensure a safe celebration.

“We are excited to welcome the return of the DAI’s Oktoberfest this year, but we have also been closely monitoring developments with the pandemic over the course of the summer and are mindful of the rising number of COVID cases due to the Delta variant,” said DAI Director & CEO Michael R. Roediger.

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During this year’s event, there will be changes to the festival layout and Saturday hours, according to a release from the museum.

The Oktoberfest weekend begins this afternoon, September 24, with the Lederhosen Lunch from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and the Preview Party, from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., followed by Oktoberfest on Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26.

Saturday hours will be changed to run from noon to 8 p.m and Sunday hours will remain noon–7 p.m.

In addition, the museum building and collection galleries will be closed to the public until Sunday, September 26, according to the release.

On the festival grounds, changes include eliminating the two enclosed artisan tents.

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“It was a very difficult decision to remove the artisan tents for 2021, as this has been a core part of the festival since its inception 50 years ago,” Roediger said. “These tents are enclosed, to protect the artisans’ wares, and as a result are not well ventilated. We felt it would be in everyone’s best interest to not include these tents in the festival layout this year.”

This change will also allow moving several food vendors in the food court, as well as several other vendor booths near the main festival tent, to open up more space on the museum grounds.

The museum hopes these changes will help to improve what have traditionally been congested areas at the festival.

There will also be fewer tables and chairs in the food court and main festival tents, with more seating and open tents added throughout the grounds, to help spread crowds out over a larger area.

For more information on the festival, you can visit the Dayton Art Institute’s website.

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