Raise your steins with a hearty “Prost!” It’s Oktoberfest time.

Griffith’s annual Oktoberfest will be from 5 to 10 p.m. Oct. 1, 2 to 10 p.m. Oct. 2 and 2 to 9 p.m. Oct. 3 at Central Park. The festival has free admission and people can purchase authentic German food and music as well as a variety of German beers. There will also be wine, a pumpkin patch and children’s activities.

The first Oktoberfest was in held in 2014, said Rick Ryfa, Griffith Town Council President. Central Park is big with plenty of room to spread out and practice social distancing, he added.

“It will be the same configuration we had for Friday night markets as well as Blues Fest,” he said. “There will be a big stage behind Ninth Street facing to the south.”

Food will include roasted nuts, spaetzle, wiener schnitzel, sauerkraut, German potato salad, German chocolate cake, pierogi, pizza, hot dogs, bratwurst, knackwurst and more.

“We’ll have lots of different German beers and plenty of wine,” he said. Beer and wine service areas will be located by the stage and adjacent to the pavilion, he said.

Bands performing include Die Musikmeisters Trio and Die Musikmeisters Band on Oct. 1; Eddie Korosa Jr. Polka Party, Ed Wagner’s Lustige Blaskapelle, and Paloma on Oct. 2; and Paloma and The German Band Oct. 3.

COVID-19 didn’t stop last year’s event from going forward, but it was almost a victim to the weather, he said.

“Unfortunately, last year we had some super-cold weather,” he said. “We’re hoping that doesn’t repeat itself.”

People tell him they appreciate the authenticity of the event — they will even have a stein-hoisting contest.

“There’s not many places that have true authentic German music and German food and German beer,” he said. “That’s been really popular. And our bands love playing here too and they’re from all over the Chicago area.”

The atmosphere is festive and laid-back, he said.

“A lot of people come here to eat and enjoy the music they normally can’t hear any other time of the year,” he said. “It’s a fun event.”

The crowds get bigger each year, he said. Children’s activities help bring in fest-goers, too.

“We’ll have a kids’ area with face painters, a pumpkin patch open from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and we’ll be giving away pumpkins to the kids while the supplies last,” he said. “We’re going to pass on the bounce houses this year, though.”

There will be some characters there for photo ops, though.

“It’s one of the more fun events we have,” he said. “It kind of runs itself once we get started. We try to pattern it after something you’d see in Munich and every year we try and make it better.

“It’s our last event for the year. And it’s a lot of fun. It’s neat to see the German things there — whether it be the German food or the bands. It’s not something you see every day.”

Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.