Roxborough Development Corporation is bringing back its annual Roxtoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 3, from noon to 6 p.m., transforming Ridge Avenue into a fall festival.
Roxtoberfest has grown from a small neighborhood street festival into one of the city’s best-attended Oktoberfests, attracting thousands of people with live entertainment, local food and drink, family-friendly activities, shopping and community fun. There will be live music, more than 100 vendors, a pet costume contest, Oktoberfest costume contest, cemetery tours, a scarecrow walk, kids’ root beer liter lift, a wellness village and more. Don your best pair of lederhosen, sip on beer and come to Ridge Avenue between Lyceum and Leverington avenues. A scarecrow walk will extend from Leverington Avenue to Hermitage Street. The event is free and open to the public, with food and drink pay-as-you-go. Visit roxborough.brightrtravel.com/events and follow @roxboroughpa for more information.
“Roxtoberfest has grown tremendously since those early neighborhood festivals, but at its heart, it’s still about bringing people together,” Jax Cusack, executive director of the Roxborough Development Corporation, said in a news release. “It’s a celebration of our businesses, artists, community organizations, families and neighbors — and one of our favorite ways to welcome fall in Roxborough.”
Festival favorites also include food trucks and local eateries, artists and makers, the Art on the Ridge Marketplace, and multiple beer gardens and bars, including the Top of the Ridge Bar.
The festival will feature three stages rocking the Ridge all afternoon with a lineup of entertainment, including Emmanuel Ohemeng III, Perpetual Motion, The Band Joe, Action Karate and Pretzel Theater Co. The Galena Brass Band will bring the “Oktober oompah music to Roxtober” from 1-3 p.m.
Roxtoberfest events will include:
• The Roxborough Scarecrow Walk. Local businesses, organizations and community members will create their own scarecrows for festivalgoers to vote for. Prizes will be awarded for the best, funniest and quirkiest scarecrows.
• A pet costume content, dubbed the “PAWrade & Costume Contest,” in Pocket Park starting at 3 p.m. Contestants will compete in four categories: Best Costume, Best Strut/Wag, Most Creative and Best in Show.
• Adults: Test your strength and endurance at the Beer Stein Competition. Hold that stein as long as you can and compete for prizes. Kids: Join the fun with the Root Beer Stein Competition. Grab a root beer, show off your strength and win prizes. Both events will be at the main stage at Ridge and Lyceum, with registration at the stage.
• Kids zone: In Pocket Park from noon to 5 p.m. There will be balloon animals, carnival games, three-hole mini golf and entertainment.
• Historical cemetery tours at Leverington Cemetery, where you can explore the stories of early settlers, Revolutionary War patriots, Civil War heroes and other remarkable community members who helped shape Roxborough.
• Other attractions will include award-winning pumpkin carver John Zeggert; the “Great Fairy Games” with Bloom the Flower Fairy and Fauve the Animal Fairy for an interactive, all-ages game show; and a community wellness village featuring local health and wellness resources and information.
The neighborhood is accessible by car, bike, bus and train. Two parking lots are available, at 465 Leverington Ave. and 514 Dupont St.
