On a Friday evening in October, the plaza in front of University Place's library and civic building fills with the sound of an accordion, the smell of soft Bavarian pretzels, and the sight of a stilt dancer picking her way through a crowd of families. This is Oktoberfest in Market Square — a free, open-air celebration that has become one of the South Sound's most easygoing fall traditions.
Market Square sits at 3609 Market Place West, the heart of this Pierce County suburb. The square was designed as a genuine town commons: the University Place Library and the civic building face onto it, and the space hosts markets, concerts, and community gatherings throughout the year. For one evening each October, it becomes a little slice of Bavaria — no ticket required, no gate, no capacity limit. Anyone can simply stroll in.
The event's formula has stayed remarkably consistent, and it is a deliberately all-ages one. A beer garden run by a local brewery serves craft beer to the over-21 crowd, while the rest of the square belongs to everyone else. Live polka music anchors the evening, with local food trucks, Bavarian pretzels, and kettle corn rounding out the menu. The South Sound Makers Market sets up handcrafted goods for browsing, and younger visitors get their own programming in the Civic Building atrium, plus roaming entertainment that has in past years included strolling princesses and a stilt dancer.
The city's own recaps give a sense of how the event has grown. In 2022, according to the City of University Place, nearly 1,500 people turned out for Oktoberfest in Market Square on October 14. They danced to polkas and pop tunes from the Lyle Schaefer Band and enjoyed traditional Bavarian fare alongside festive treats like large soft pretzels and potatoes-on-a-stick. Family activities that year included corn hole, face painting, and spin art, with appearances by stilt dancer Janet Rayor, accordionist Jakob Bean, and costumed characters from Magic in the Pacific Northwest. The E-9 Brewing Co. ran the beer garden, serving local craft beers, with a portion of proceeds going back to the community.
The following year, 2023, the city reported what it called the highest-attended Oktoberfest ever — and not even a little rain could dampen it. The recap highlighted the same winning ingredients: the appropriately dressed stilt dancer, traditional polka music, and engaging kids' activities. Vendors that year included Jack's Savory Pie Co. with hand pies and Tornado Potato's Polish sausage tornado, alongside E9 Brewing Co.'s beer garden and, of course, the Bavarian pretzels. The city thanked everyone who came out to "make this Oktoberfest one to remember."
That the event keeps returning to Market Square is no accident. The civic campus was built around the idea of a walkable, shared public realm, and Oktoberfest is one of the clearest expressions of it — a festival that doesn't ask residents to drive to a fairground or buy a wristband, but simply to walk into the middle of their own town. The mix of polka and pop tunes, craft beer and kettle corn, hand pies and handmade goods reflects a community that is, in the most literal sense, at home in its public square.
For 2026, the celebration is set for Friday, October 9, at Market Square, in front of the Library and Civic Building. Expect the same recipe that has worked for years: live polka, a beer garden, local food trucks, Bavarian pretzels and kettle corn, the South Sound Makers Market, and a Civic Building atrium full of activities for the youngest attendees, with strolling princesses and a stilt dancer moving through the crowd. It is, as the city has long pitched it, an evening of music, food, and seasonal fun — free, open to all, and right in the neighborhood's front yard.