Oktoberfest Will Be Condensed To Four Days Next Year

La Crosse’s Oktoberfest celebration will be cut down to four days next year, instead of spanning over two weekends.

For more than 50 years, Oktoberfest has traditionally celebrated the La Crosse area’s German heritage with parades, bratwurst, and of course, beer.

For more than a decade, the festival has lasted nine days and it will continue to this year. But next year, all the festivities will be condensed into four days.

Oktoberfest Board of Directors president Kam-Lin Roswall says they hope to draw more out-of-towners into La Crosse for an extra night. She says they’ll also be able to pack more events into the northside and southside festival grounds.

“We realized in four days we could really pull families in. We could pull dignitaries in – visitors to the Coulee Region. And in four days, we could really do it right.”

Roswell says cutting the festival practically in half will help them balance their budget. Last year, the city asked Oktoberfest to kick in more money to pay for increased policing and clean up that comes along with the festival. Oktoberfest officials have said in the past that’s been difficult to budget.

The Oktoberfest parades can draw anywhere from 50,000-150,000 people.

Critics have argued that excessive drinking and public intoxication is prevalent while the festival goes on, but Oktoberfest officials swear by its tradition of celebrating German culture with friends and family.