Tuscaloosa Oktoberfest Underway Until 4 P.M. After Saturday 5K

The third annual Tuscaloosa Oktoberfest is underway in downtown's Government Plaza until 4 p.m. today, following another successful 5k presented by Mercedes-Benz U.S. International.

Around 800 runners, including many in liederhosen and other German attire, participated in the race Saturday morning, which was warm and sunny.

The free-to-attend Oktoberfest event is presented this year by UA Online and is now underway from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will feature tons of activities, including a wiener dog race, a costume contest for all dog breeds, a nail-hammering competition, tons of beer, German cuisine, live music and more.

The event's first year in Government Plaza has been a major success so far and drawn a large crowd to the park.

Kelsey Rush, the CEO of the city's tourism bureau, Visit Tuscaloosa, said they're thrilled to see how the event continues to grow and hope anyone in town looking for a fun-filled day during the Tide's bye week will stop by.

"We were excited to kick off with the 5k this morning - starting this event that way with more runners than ever before brings so much energy to the Festival from the very beginning," Rush said. "We're excited to keep that going all day, and we invite people to come out until 4 p.m. We've got great music, great food, great activities, and we welcome our community to come out and enjoy the day as it keeps going."

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