Germany’s official Oktoberfest draws nearly 8 million visitors every year. Together these revelers consume a half-million chickens, a quarter-million pairs of sausages—and a whopping 1,822,787 gallons of beer.

While the 16-day festival was traditionally held exclusively in the month of October, it was moved up to the end of September to take advantage of fairer weather and officially concludes on the first Sunday of October.

We in the Bay Area needn’t worry about this “bad weather” phenomenon, so we aim for a more traditional approach—holding our Oktoberfestivities from late September until the end of October because, well, beer. Duh…

Here is a short list of local celebrations where one may enjoy sausage, schnitzel and have one helles of a good time.

Campbell Oktoberfest
Oct 19-20, 10am
Downtown Campbell
campbelloktoberfest.com
This long-running annual festival is regularly voted one of the top holiday festivals in the South Bay by Metro readers, and it’s easy to see why. Dozens of food booths delivering authentic German eats; over a hundred arts and crafts vendors; German music; authentic German beers; and, of course, the stein-holding contest. Admission is free, and kids are welcome to this family-friendly event.

The Cider Junction
Oct 5, noon
820 Willow St #100, San Jose
theciderjunction.com
The Cider Junction celebrates Oktoberfest and two years in business. Traditional German food such as brats, pretzels and strudel will be served to go along with German style ciders and beer.

Clandestine Brewing
Oct 4-6
980 S 1st St Ste B, San Jose
clandestinebrewing.com
Clandestine Brewing’s Oktoberfest will feature a variety of German-style beers on tap plus eats from Wren Foods on Friday and Saturday. Beers include the Hacktoberfest, Elsie’s Marzen, Bocklash, Pils Off!, V (a traditional German bock) and Undercover (a raspberry-infused Berliner-Weisse style kettle sour ale). Get tickets early to secure a commemorative stein.

Ludwig’s German Table
Saturdays in October
261 N 2nd St, San Jose
ludwigssj.com
Every Saturday this month, Ludwig’s German Table will be serving their popular Schweinshaxen, or roasted ham hock. Be sure to pair this German delicacy with the restaurants very own Oktoberfest Marzen, which they are producing in partnership with the Palo Alto Brewing Company.

Mountain View Oktoberfest
Oct 5-6, 11am
Bryant and Dana streets, Mountain View
mvoktoberfest.com
 The Mountain View Oktoberfest marks its seventh year with authentic German music, food and beer. The festival’s 7,000-square-foot tent will host local breweries; musical acts, including the Alpiners USA, SF German Band and Big Lou’s Accordion Princess; community tables and a VIP section. Admission is free, beer tickets are $10 each or four for $38, and there is an additional one-time stein purchase ($12-$25). The family-friendly event features a free kid’s area that includes jump houses, games and more.

Peninsula Oktoberfest
Oct 12, 6pm
501 Skyway Rd, San Carlos
hiller.org
This indoor event takes place inside the historic Hiller Aviation Museum and combines food, music, beer and a plethora of fantastic flying machines. With $5 beer pours, this is one of the more reasonably priced events around.

Teske’s Germania
Various Dates
255 N 1st St, San Jose
teskes-germania.com
It’s pretty much always Oktoberfest at Teske’s. But when fall rolls around, they definitely turn it up a notch. The Internationals provide live music Fridays and Saturdays all throughout the month of October. Order a schnitzel, enjoy imported German beers that are hard to find anywhere else and take in the good times.