A large group getting ready for the Bockfest parade with a hippie goat floatBockfest returns to the Cincy Region

It’s been a long, strange couple of years since we attended the last in-person Bockfest, at the end of February/beginning of March 2020. Bockfest is always held the first weekend of March, just before springtime. Just as spring brings back new life, we hope the return of this “Off the Beaten Path Festival”, heralds a return of many more local festivals and events this year.

A goat with green legs leading monks in the Bockfest parade in Cincinnati

Bockfest – the What? When? Where?

Bockfest is a three-day celebration of the return of Spring held the first weekend of March, this year it's March 4-6. It’s a weekend-long party that kicks off with a unique parade, features a 5K run/walk, crowns a Sausage Queen, and boasts more varieties of Bock beer from local craft breweries than you’ll ever have a chance to see in one place elsewhere. Bockfest also includes plenty of live music, entertainment, great food, family fun, and goats.

Because goats = springtime.

Really.

Or because bock means goat in some German dialects. 

The parade this year kicks off at 6:00 pm on Friday March 4 at its traditional starting point, Arnold's - 210 E 8th St, Cincinnati, OH 45202. 

A wide selection of Bock beers listed at Arnold's Bar in Cincinnati for Bockfest

Bock beer is the heart of Bockfest. Bock is a dark, malty beer, light on the hops. No one seems to know exactly when or where it originated. It’s our beer to toast the return of spring in part because some think it was invented in the Middle Ages by monks needing it to help them through the privations of the season of Lent. At Bockfest, you will find dozens of delicious bocks from local Cincy and NKY craft brewers, as well as some tasty options from regional craft breweries.

Why You Should Come to Bockfest

Where else are you going to see

Woman in a Bath tub wheeling down the street in Cincinnati's Bockfest parade

Last year’s Sausage Queen riding in the parade in the Arnold’s bathtub

A float of the Rabbit Hash General Store in the Bockfest parade

A float of the General Store in Rabbit Hash, Ky

People in gargoyle costumes at the Bockfest parade in Cincinnati, near NKY

Gargoyles

A group holding a banner that reads All Hail Boctopus in the Bockfest parade

Bocktopus

A large wooden goat with a beer barrel torso as a float in the Bockfest parade

A giant wooden goat

People dressed as bottles of New Riff bourbon in the Bockfest parade

People dressed as bottles of New Riff bourbon

And SO much more. Too much for one blog post. Check out the full list of Bockfest and pre-Bockfest fun here.

If you need a fun weekend getaway to escape the end-of-winter blues, come to Bockfest! Here’s our handy page to help you choose where to stay.