Riverhead Oktoberfest moves indoors to breweries with rain in forecast this weekend

Riverhead’s Oktoberfest will transform into an impromptu beer crawl as rain is forecast to wash out the originally planned outdoor festivities this weekend along the riverfront.

The Oktoberfest, the newest addition to the slate of downtown Riverhead events, had been scheduled for Saturday with a rain date of Sunday. But with rain and wind in the forecast for both days, organizers and participants decided Thursday afternoon to come up with a contingency plan.

Participants will now be encouraged to wear costumes and visit one of several downtown breweries, according to Diane Tucci of Main Street Agency, who coordinates the event logistics and marketing. The breweries that had been scheduled to participate — North Fork Brewing Company, Peconic County Brewing, Tradewinds Brewing and Long Ireland Beer Company — will now welcome guests indoors.

“We tried to figure out a way to keep the event going,” Ms. Tucci said Thursday in a statement. “I love that the group came up with an idea to continue to support our local businesses after so many months of planning. We’ll keep the celebration going and see you all next year back in our beautiful park.”

The final Reflextions of the year had also been scheduled this weekend with the Oktoberfest and will be canceled. Reflextions, Art in the Park, the outdoor art installment at Grangebel Park, was held throughout the summer concurrently with other downtown events like Alive on 25 and the recent Peconic County Brewing Music Festival.

“With the pending storm looming this coming weekend, we are all disappointed to have to cancel the outdoor Oktoberfest at Grangebel Park and the Reflextions lighting of the sculptures,” said Bryan Deluca, a co-curator of Reflextions. “However, on the bright side, all of our local breweries will still be celebrating the Oktoberfest this weekend so come out to Riverhead and enjoy pumpkin beer and Oktoberfest beer at our local breweries.”

The Oktoberfest was first discussed in 2020 just prior to the pandemic. It debuted in downtown Riverhead last year and was co-hosted by the Riverhead Business Improvement District and the East End Tourism Alliance.