Detroit Parktoberfest Saturday
The 2nd annual Parktoberfest, returns to Downtown Detroit at Campus Martius Park, Friday, September 16, from 5 p.m. - midnight and Saturday, September 17, from noon - midnight to welcome fall with two days of activities sprinkled with samples of traditional Oktoberfest elements. The Downtown Parktoberfest will feature the Big Bier Garden Tent, supported by Atwater Brewery and Great Lakes Beverage, offering craft and Oktoberfest beer lovers more than 25 impressive selections, including the popular Blocktoberfest from Atwater Brewery in Detroit, and Hofbrau and Spaten from Munich, live entertainment by Immigrant Sons, Corktown Popes and the Polish Muslims, a Kidz Zone with the favorite Faygo root beer garden and interactive activities, pumpkin carving demonstrations and other festivities.
"After a successful summer entertainment season in Downtown Detroit, we are excited to celebrate the coming of fall with the return of Detroit Parktoberfest," said Robert Gregory, chief planning and public spaces officer of the Downtown Detroit Partnership. "The event was so well received in its inaugural year, we've amped it up and created our own brand of Oktoberfest fun for all to enjoy as one of the many local traditions and free entertainment options in our downtown."
As in Munich, where the original Oktoberfest is celebrated the same weekend, the Detroit Parktoberfest will open with the ceremonial Tapping of the First Keg at 5 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday. Once those mugs are filled, the revelry and games begin! Participants can compete in feats of strength, speed and agility with contests such as keg rolling, a stein spree and stein hoisting in which contenders see who can hold a full mug of beer out in front of them the longest without any spills!
There's plenty more, too! Photo booth fun for all, a zucchini 500 race for the kids, and an array of specialty foods available for purchase are a few of the highlights. The complete schedule listing for Parktoberfest activities is at DowntownDetroitParks.com.
Editor's Note: Details, dates and hours for all Parktoberfest activities are in the "At the Glance" attachment accompanying the release.
Schedule and participants subject to change without notice.
The Downtown Detroit Partnership is grateful to Quicken Loans for its presentation for the 2016 Harvest Happenings, and the wonderful support from all of our official sponsors including WXYZ, Compuware, IKEA, McDonalds, Detroit Free Press, iHeartMedia, Meridian Health Plan, EY, Honigman, Marketing Associates, Faygo, Absopure Water Company, aloft Detroit Hotel, Westin Book Cadillac, Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, Atwater Brewery, Michigan.com, Great Lakes Beverage, Autoliv, GalaxE Solutions, Bedrock, Blumz, People's Transit, The Detroit News, Channel 955, 1130 WDFN The Fan, WNIC, D106.7, Clark Hill, Opportunity Detroit, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, Taste Love Cupcakes, good people popcorn, Berline, Michpromos, and other special companies.
For more information on Downtown Detroit Partnership, please contact Kailey Poort, director of communications and marketing at Kailey.poort@downtowndetroit.org or 313.949.9770.
About Downtown Detroit Partnership
Downtown Detroit Partnership - through its affiliate Detroit 300 Conservancy in partnership with the City of Detroit Parks and Recreation Department - operates, maintains and programs Downtown's parks, which include Campus Martius Park, Cadillac Square, Capitol Park, Grand Circus Park and Paradise Valley's Beatrice Buck Park. Placemaking initiatives activate these public spaces attracting over 2 million visitors annually. DDP strengthens and supports Downtown Detroit through strategic initiatives and programs. DDP convenes business, philanthropic and government partners to create a vibrant, resilient urban core for Detroit and the surrounding community. For more information, contact us at 313.962.0101 or visit at downtowndetroit.org or DowntownDetroitParks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @CampusMartius and on Facebook at Facebook.com/CampusMartiusPark.
About Quicken Loans
Detroit-based Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation's second largest retail home mortgage lender. The company closed more than $220 billion of mortgage volume across all 50 states in 2013-2014. Quicken Loans generates loan production from web centers located in Detroit, Cleveland and Scottsdale, Arizona. The company also operates a centralized loan processing facility in Detroit, as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit. Quicken Loans ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction for Primary Mortgage Origination" in the United States by J.D. Power for the past five consecutive years, 2010-2015, and highest in customer satisfaction among all mortgage servicers in 2014 and 2015.
Quicken Loans was ranked No. 5 on FORTUNE magazine's annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list in 2016, and has been among the top-30 companies for the last 13 years. It has been recognized as one of Computerworld magazine's '100 Best Places to Work in IT' the past 11 years, ranking No. 1 in 2015, 2014, 2013, 2007, 2006 and 2005. The company moved its headquarters to Downtown Detroit in 2010, and now more than 10,000 of its 15,000 team members work in the city's urban core. For more information about Quicken Loans, please visit QuickenLoans.com, on Twitter at @QLnews, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/QuickenLoans.