Oktoberfest

Celebrating 10 years in San Francisco, Oktoberfest by the Bay will take place Oct. 2-4 at its new location, Pier 48. An event that originated in Germany, Oktoberfest was originally held to celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig I and Princess Therese of Saxony.

In latter years, this celebration has been held in many other cities around the world, including our very own San Francisco. However, the original reason for Oktoberfest has evolved and today it has become a fete to honor German culture and heritage. This event is mostly for the 21-and-over crowd, featuring Spaten Munchen and Bavarian beers on tap.

Parking downtown can be hard to come by, even with public parking structures that offer hourly or daily parking incentives, so it is highly recommended that people utilize public transportation, especially those looking to have noch eine mass (i.e. planning to actively participate in the beer and wine tasting). The entrance fees are listed on the official Bay Area Oktoberfest website, along with special daily promotions such as $10 off general admission on Friday and two-for-one admission tickets on Sunday.

For additional information or to purchase your tickets in advance, visit the Oktoberfest by the Bay website at http://www.oktoberfestbythebay.com.

World Vegetarian Festival

Commemorating World Vegetarian Day, the tenth annual World Vegetarian Festival will occur during Oct. 3-4 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. This event will bring together a community of vegetarians as well as people who are interested in learning about vegetarianism.

The festival will feature various presenters speaking out in support of the cause, such as New York Times bestselling author Rory Freedman. There will be live entertainment such as acrobatics performed by the Red Panda Acrobats and interactive cooking demos such as “Tips & Techniques for Easy, Healthy, Local Cooking” with Lisa Jervis.

If you want to check it out, it is free to students, children and seniors (make sure to bring your ID) and free to the public before 10:30am on both Saturday and Sunday. Otherwise, they respectfully suggest a donation of $6. The festival will be held at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park.

For additional information, visit the San Francisco Vegetarian Society’s Web site at http://www.sfvs.org/wvd/ or call them directly at (415) 273-5481.

Litquake

Litquake, San Francisco’s annual literary festival, is celebrating a decade as the “West Coast’s largest literary festival.” The week-long event will take place from Oct. 9-17. Several locations throughout the city will be helping to host the event and the San Francisco Main Library’s Koret Auditorium will be accommodating a majority of the free events.

If you’re interested in taking a retrospective walk down literary lane, the festival will be offering a free “Literary North Beach Walking Tour” which will begin at 5 p.m. at the Beat Museum and will last for approximately one hour.

There will some special events that will cost an additional entrance fee, such as the Barbary Coast ceremony honoring this year’s recipient, Amy Tan, with an award for her “contribution to the Bay Area literary community.”

For additional information, a schedule of events or to buy tickets in advance, visit the official website for San Francisco’s Litquake Festival at http://www.litquake.org or by calling (415) 750-1497.