Pioneer Courthouse Square Will Host Portland Oktoberfest This September

You can expect German-style beers as well as imports, a costume contest, stein-holding competitions, and even a mechanical bull.

PAPERBACK LUNCH: Reading in Pioneer Courthouse Square. (Brian Brose)
By Andi Prewitt

Portland’s Living Room is about to get a Bavarian makeover.

This September, Pioneer Courthouse Square will host a new event: Portland Oktoberfest. Northwest independent event promoter True West is producing the German-themed celebration, which comes a year after it launched a new concert series called PDX Live at the same venue.

While better known for putting together live music shows, True West has experience in the festival arena. The company helps organize both the Hood River Hops and Hood River Cider fests. What makes this new event significant is the fact that it’s coming to downtown Portland, where office vacancies and lower-than-pre-pandemic pedestrian traffic remain problems.

In addition to that, True West seems to be on a mission to revive the bricks, which used to hold more large-scale parties before COVID.

The promoter has helped fill Pioneer Courthouse Square’s August calendar thanks to the return of its concert series this year. There are three weeks of shows, and several have already sold out, including tickets to see Filipino English singer beabadoobee, Texas post-rock band Explosions in the Sky, indie pop artists Japanese Breakfast and The Flaming Lips.

Since pre-pandemic life now feels like, well, a lifetime ago, it may be hard to remember the days when Pioneer Courthouse Square drew big crowds for events ranging from Festa Italiana, where people could stomp grapes, drink wine and stuff themselves with pasta; to Widmer Brothers Hefe Day, which marked the birth of the brewery’s American-style wheat; to the Holiday Ale Festival, which has yet to reemerge from the pandemic. Our city’s living room has even been turned into a giant bedroom (a world record-breaking pillow fight was attempted there in 2018) and a dance hall, when a community square dance was held to celebrate the venue’s 35th anniversary in 2019.

While there’s no telling whether Portland Oktoberfest will encourage more people to congregate at Pioneer Courthouse Square, there’s plenty of incentive for folks to show up. The event will feature what’s described as a “carefully curated selection” of German-style beers as well as imports, Urban German Wursthaus’ brats and soft pretzels, a costume contest, stein-holding competitions, and live polka music. And while it doesn’t necessarily fit the theme, True West is even throwing in a mechanical bull.

The event takes place 2 to 9 pm Friday and 11 am to 9 pm Saturday, Sept. 22-23. Tickets are available online and range from $10 for designated drivers to $35 for a package that includes a 20-ounce commemorative stoneware stein and two drink tickets. Attendees must be at least 21 years old.

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