Oktemberfest 2023
Dates: September 21st - 24th
Downtown Marshalltown, IA
Activities For Everyone!
The 2023 Theme:
No Place Like Home
Oktemberfest 2023 is here.
This is a rain or shine event, so please plan ahead.
Check back here regularly for new details.
Mark your calendars for September 21-24, 2023 in Marshalltown.
We are actively seeking new members for planning and coordinating events during Oktemberfest.
Please contact a board member if you are interested in helping with planning and/or participating in any events at a board member or committee member commitment level.
Go to the Board tab at the top of this page for Executive and Committee members' contact information or click the link below.
Thank you to our featured 2023 Diamond Sponsor!
RE/MAX Partners Realty
Thank you to our additional 2023 Diamond Sponsor!
Emerson
Special Advanced Notice: Street Closures
Effective - Sept 18 to 25, 2023 (details subject to change)
To accommodate State St being closed for reconstruction, and to maintain Main St as its designated detour route, Oktemberfest is moving much of its activities one block south to Church St for 2023.
Due to the layout of Church and Linn being one-way each, it creates a partially one way counter-clockwise circle for traffic flow around the overall event space during its active times. However, this will allow Main St to remain open to two way traffic the entire weekend, so please continue to support our downtown businesses that are going to still be open.
Tues:
South 1st Ave between Main and Church St, and most of the parking lot south of the Marshall County Annex Building, will close Monday evening of Sept 18 after about 8 pm to allow the Carnival staging and setup to begin Tuesday Sept 19.
Thurs:
S Center St will close on Thurs morning between Main St and Church to allow setup of the Main Stage, food vendors, and supporting equipment.
Church St will be open most of the day up until around 4 pm. At that time, it will begin a slow closure from 2nd Ave to 1st St, and the additional 1/2 block of Center south on Church to allow for Kid's Night activities. Church St and Center St going south will open up to through traffic at the close of activities on Thurs by around 9 pm.
*** Southbound traffic from Church and 2nd Ave to the Center St viaduct: Detour to Main, west to 1st St, south to Linn or Boone, then back to Center,
*** Otherwise please plan to use the 3rd St viaduct as an alternate route.
Fri:
Church St will be open most of the day up until around 4:15 to 4:30 pm. At that time, it will begin a slow closure from 1st St to 2nd Ave, and the 1/2 block south on Center to allow for Car, Truck, and Motorcycle Show entries' parking to start.
*** Classic Car, Truck, and Motorcycle show points of entry:
*** Please enter either from Church St at 2nd Ave, or from the south at S Center and Linn St. Directions for parking will be provided from there.
The Registration tent will be near the corner of Church and Center St.
Church St and Center St going south will open up to through traffic at the close of activities on Fri by around midnight.
Sat:
Church St and S Center will be closed most of the day starting around 7 am to allow for the 5K/10, Parade, Car Show/Car Hop, Vendors, and Concerts.
The 5k/10k races will begin at about 7 am. Lineups and Staging for the Grand Parade starts around Miller School, west Church and west Main around 8 am, with the parade traveling east on Church starting at 10 am.
2023 Parade Lineup (xlsx) (Rev 4 as of Sept 22)
2023 Parade Lineup (pdf) ABC Sort
2023 Parade Lineup (pdf) 123 Sort
After the Parade, Church St will open to normal traffic for everything west of 1st St. It will remain closed from 1st St to 2nd Ave. and the 1/2 block south on Center after teh parade and throughout the rest of the day. to allow for Car Show entries to parking to start.
*** Car Show and Car Hop show points of entry:
Please enter either from Church St at 2nd Ave, or from the south at S Center and Linn St. Directions for parking will be provided from there.
The Registration tent will be near the corner of Church and Center St.
Church St and Center St going south will open up to through traffic traffic at the close of activities on Sat around or after midnight.
Sun:
Church St and S Center will be closed most of the day starting around 8 am to allow for the Bags Tournament, Vendors, and afternoon Concert. At that time, it will begin a slow closure from 1st St to 2nd Ave, and the 1/2 block south on Center to allow for Car Show entries to parking to start.
Church St and Center St going south will open up to through traffic traffic at the close of activities on Sat around 6 or 7 pm to allow for cleanup and teardown. All food vendors are expected to be loaded out Sun evening.
Mon:
The Main Stage will be removed from S Center Mon morning to open to normal traffic.
The Carnival should have most or all of its equipment moved out by the end of the day Mon to allow final cleanup and to open S 1st Ave and the Annex lot to normal traffic.
Parade Staging and 5k/10k route
Effective Saturday - Sept 23, 2023.
Street closures for portions of the 5K/10K route, the Parade staging and route, along and across the parade route and staging areas.
Closures and restricted travel will start around 6:30 / 7AM Saturday morning for the start of the 5K/10K, and will remain Closed until the end of the parade. Everything west of 3rd St will be opened at the end of the parade.
Please do not drive across people's lawns to get around the barricades in place for the safety of all participants and coordinators. Plan accordingly with alternate routes around this area, and remind employees/coworkers as needed. If you live in this area, you will be receiving a postcard reminder to have all vehicles along the route moved to an alternate side street for that day.
2023 Printable Schedule of Events
2023 Printable Schedule of Events (docx)
2023 Printable Schedule of Events (PDF)
(details subject to change)
Oktemberfest webpage
mobile link
