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Last week, Charlotte Oktoberfest – set for Sept. 29 at Metrolina Expo – sold out for the seventh year in a row.
Fortunately, that’s not your only opportunity to celebrate craft and micro brewing with a big crowd (and a big glass) this month.
Local breweries NoDa Brewing Co., 4 Friends Brewing, Heist Brewery, and Birdsong Brewing Co. are banding together this weekend for the inaugural Craftoberfest at the NC Music Factory’s VBGB Beer Hall & Garden (920 Hamilton St.). The event will feature a traditional Oktoberfest costume contest, a polka band, chicken dancing, a bier stein race, Neil Diamond karaoke, and a frankfurter toss … so this is bound to be entertaining whether you’re drinking beer or not.
Tickets are available at www.vbgbuptown.com for $45, and that includes a pretzel and beer cheese buffet (so good, I made it my dinner at the DNC media party over all the other fancy food there). Craftoberfest will be held 7-11 p.m. tonight and Saturday; guests younger than 21 can attend – but can’t drink, of course – from 1-5 p.m. Saturday.
Meanwhile, Charlotte Seen’s Fashion Week is going on right across the parking lot from VBGB at Reel Works Studio (817 Hamilton St.) all weekend as well. Tonight’s featured event focuses on emerging fashion, while Saturday’s puts the spotlight on styles designed using recyclable materials. Doors open at 6:30 each night; shows start at 8 p.m. Tickets: $25-$87.50. Details: www.charlottefashionweek.com.
And speaking of the Music Factory: “Mega club” Label, designed by Francois Frossard, will hold its grand opening Oct. 12-13. www.labelcharlotte.com.
More Saturday fun
Sip & Savour Myers Park Gallery Crawl: Five galleries in the vicinity of Providence and Queens roads will be filled with wine and food from local restaurants like Fran’s Filling Station and The Fig Tree. Check-in is at 6 p.m. at Allison Sprock Fine Art (600 Queens Road); the crawl also includes Providence Gallery, Shain Gallery, Renee George Gallery, and FABO, which hosts an after-party featuring a concert by Simplified will perform. 6-11 p.m. Tickets: $25. Details: www.sipandsavour.org.
Randy Houser: The country singer-songwriter plays Coyote Joe’s. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets: $15. Details: www.coyote-joes.com.
