I’ve never been to Munich — or anywhere else in Germany — but I absolutely love Oktoberfest season. Whether it’s the big downtown Campbell celebration, listening to The Internationals band along with a beer at Teske’s Germania in downtown San Jose or having a backyard gathering with friends, the combination of beer, pretzels, sausages and oompah music brings a smile to my face every time.
Gordon Biersch co-founder Dan Gordon loves Oktoberfest, too, and not only has he been to Germany, that’s where he learned the art and craft of brewing. He put his brewing degree to very good use, as fans of the various styles of Gordon Biersch beer will attest to between drinks.
Gordon Biersch co-founder Dan Gordon holds up a beer stein at the Oktoberfest celebration held at the brewery in San Jose’s Japantown on Sept. 28, 2024. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
That beer is brewed in San Jose’s historic Japantown district, and that’ll be the site of the annual Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, which I consider to be the start of the season. The festivities start at 3 p.m., with food trucks like Paper Platez and Roy’s Barbeque joining traditional food offerings like bratwurst, schnitzel, Black Forest cake, pretzels and something called “kartoffelsalat.” Google Translate says it’s just potato salad, but it sounds much more interesting in German.
Gordon Biersch co-founder Dan Gordon cheers on the competitors in the women’s stein-holding contest during the Oktoberfest celebration held at the brewery in San Jose’s Japantown on Sept. 28, 2024. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
The entertainment will be provided by saxophone player Aaron Lington and his band from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and Polkgeist from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Gordon, who plays the trombone, tells me he’ll be sitting in with both groups. The popular beer-stein holding contests — with divisions for both men and women — will be back, and there’ll also be a contest to see who wears the best dirndl and lederhosen. Admission to the all-ages event is free, but there’ll be plenty of food and Gordon Biersch beer to spend money on.
CREATIVE WEEKEND IN SOFA: Downtown San Jose’s South First Area (SoFA) has a well-deserved reputation for being a place to find innovative, interesting and sometimes provocative expressions of art. MACLA is living up to that, bringing Los Angeles-based artist San Cha to perform her experimental opera, “Inebria Me,” for three nights at its Castellano Playhouse this weekend.
The show is about a woman, Dolores, who is trapped in a toxic marriage with a wealthy husband and is visited by a luminous, genderless being who helps her find her courage. Its live score showcases San Cha’s vocals amid a blend of ranchera, cumbia, mariachi, punk, electronic and classical music. Tickets are $10-$75 and can be purchased at inebriame.eventbrite.com.
It’s also opening weekend for the SJZ Break Room’s Fall Series, which should get off to a great start with the Marcos Varela Trio kicking things off at 8 p.m. Friday, followed by Jorge Luis Pacheco Trio’s tribute to the Buena Vista Social Club at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. If you haven’t been to the quirky office-turned-jazz club at 310 S. First St., you should check it out. Get more details at sanjosejazz.org.
And if you’re in the mood for more music this weekend, the SoFA Street Fair returns Sunday, with more than three dozen local bands — including Dirty Cello, Dogcatcher and Thelves — playing on eight free stages along and around South First Street. There’ll also be art and craft vendors and the UnderGround Wrestling Alliance will be throwing each other around, as well. The fun gets started at 2 p.m., and you can get the full schedule and other details at sofastreetfair.com.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS: Jonathan Jarvis, the former director of the U.S. National Park Service, will speak on the imperiled state of our wilderness preservation in this country at the annual Nature’s Inspiration gala Sunday for the environmental nonprofit Green Foothills. The casual-dress event, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., is expected to draw more than 300 people to the Santa Clara Valley Authority’s Tilton Ranch Complex in Morgan Hill, which isn’t usually open to the public. If you want to join them, you can check for ticket availability at greenfoothills.org/natures-inspiration.
ADIOS, ALEBRIJES: You’ve got another big chance to celebrate the “Alebrijes En San Jose” exhibition — that’s those colorful Mexican folk art statues of magical animals in and around Plaza de Cesar Chavez — with “El Ultimo Baile,” a free event taking place at the downtown park from 2 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday. It should be an energetic finale with music, dance and a horse and rope show. Get more details at alebrijes.sanjosejazz.org.