Roll out the barrel and ring-in fall with a Swiss-Bavarian celebration of beer, brats and dance-hall polka!
Founded in 1975 by Swiss/Canadian immigrants Joe and Rita Erhler, many will remember when Alpenfest was held up at the lake in the old Elks Lodge, then a skating rink. Although the main shows are now held in Joseph and Joe is no longer with us, the festival remains today much as it was back then, a celebration of traditional music, dance, clothing and food that spans an entire week across multiple venues. Visitors will have a chance to see the famous Alphorns perform at the top of The Wallowa Lake Tramway and experience what the Swiss Alps would have sounded like as far back as the 1700's when herders used these horns for signaling. At the evening shows, eager dancers crowd the floor while hungry festival goers wash down monsterous plates of schnitzel with full steins of local Terminal Gravity beer. Although Alpenfest packs all the fun you may experience with the bigger festivals of Leavenworth and Mt Angel, it's remains as "Wallowa County" as it ever was, small, intimate, family-friendly, and true to it's home in Oregon's Little Alps!
Learn more at: Oregon's Alpenfest
When: September 16th-20th
Where: Throughout Wallowa County with main shows taking place in Joseph