Oktoberfest in La Crosse

The first Oktoberfest, USA, was held on October 13, 14, and 15, 1961...but the planning began many months before. In early 1960, civic leaders had agreed that La Crosse needed a community wide activity of some sort. The city had been without such an event since 1921. Because that earlier celebration had been a winter carnival, many of the leaders were in favor of renewing this idea as a La Crosse tradition.