It's October! 7 beer, oyster, harvest and Wampanoag celebrations to kick off the month

Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll, Cape Cod Times
·5 min read

The harvest season, the start of the month that named Oktoberfest and a chance to celebrate other cultures all come together this weekend with chances for family fun, good eating and drinking, shopping crafters and more at festivals and celebrations around the Mid- and Upper Cape towns.

Hope for good weather Saturday for Oktoberfest in Mashpee, Harvest Festivals in Bourne and Cotuit, an afternoon of oysters and beer in Hyannis, and more beer and good food in Dennis. And then on Sunday will be the Wampanoag Cultural Celebration in Falmouth. To join in, read on:

Sisters Penny Dumas, 1, and Charlotte, 3, pose in an autumn setting for their parents during a visit to last year's Mashpee Oktoberfest.
Sisters Penny Dumas, 1, and Charlotte, 3, pose in an autumn setting for their parents during a visit to last year's Mashpee Oktoberfest.

Mashpee Oktoberfest

Mashpee kicks off the month with its 35th annual free outdoor Oktoberfest, taking place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 (rain date Oct. 2) at the Mashpee Commons Green, 4 Jobs Fishing Road. The family-friendly event will include a craft show with more than 40 crafters, food, a German-style Biergarten courtesy of Naukabout Brewery, carnival-style games, a pass-the-pumpkin contest, face painting and pumpkin decorating.

There will be performances by Colleen Kanaley’s Irish Step Dancing, New England Ballet Theatre and Marcus the Magician, Sonnay Fiddlers, Peter DeFrancesco and The Vagabonds; and a K-9 Demonstration. The event is organized by the Town of Mashpee Special Events; for information, the Mashpee Recreation Department at 508-539-1416 or www.mashpeerec.com.

The Alonzo Booth Forge is part of the Briggs-McDermott House campus in Bourne village.
The Alonzo Booth Forge is part of the Briggs-McDermott House campus in Bourne village.

Bourne Harvest Festival

If you’re looking for old-fashioned family fun, the Bourne Society for Historic Preservation will hold its Harvest Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Briggs McDermott House and Property, 22 Sandwich Road, Bourne. On tap will be free puppet shows at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., crafts, games, a petting zoo, ice-cream churning, cider-pressing, a country store, food and treats for sale and antique carriages and a blacksmith shop to visit. Local crafters will demonstrate their work, the Falmouth Fiddlers will play and the New England Ballet Theatre dancers will perform. Admission: $5, free for children under age 6. Information: https://bournepreservation.org/.

Fall reading: 5 new books by Cape Cod authors: Ghosts, politics, murder and romance

SandwichFest and Street Festival

The 13th annual SandwichFest and Street Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, offering a food court and beer and wine garden; more than 80 street vendors, including juried local artists, craftspeople and retailers; music; and children’s activities made available by Hammer & Stain, a Sandwich workshop studio. The event is hosted by the Sandwich Chamber of Commerce on the Hoxie House grounds and along Water Street (Route 130).

Food trucks in the court, according to an announcement, will include Cape Cod Slush, Bourne/Sandwich Rotary Club, Brazilian Food, Cousins Maine and Seafood Sam’s. Food vendors on the street will include the Snowy Owl, Greek Caffeina, Farmhouse Baking, Centerville Pie, MacSweets Gourmet and Rock Harbor Shellfish. (There will be no costume contest or dog parade this year.) Information: https://www.sandwichchamber.com/.

Cotuit Harvest Celebration

An event for the whole family (including the dogs) on Saturday will be the Cotuit Harvest Celebration, taking place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 on the Cotuit Village Green, 889 Main St. The free event put on by Cotuit Library and the Historical Society of Santuit & Cotuit will feature a pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, face painting, kids’ games, a harvest maze, live music, dog costumes, a pop-up bookshop, a pie sale, doughnuts and more. Information: https://www.cotuitlibrary.org/, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cotuit-harvest-festival-tickets-400772319797.

Open through mid-November: 'Most open, most caring and kind town': Century of LGBTQ+ history in Provincetown revealed in new exhibit

Shuck! A Day of Oysters & Beer

Cape Cod Beer, in the midst of numerous fall celebrations, will hold what it’s calling its biggest event of the year — “Shuck! A Day of Oysters & Beer” — from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. The Hyannis brewery, at 1336 Phinney’s Lane, is partnering with Big Rock Oyster Co. and Cape Cod Oyster Co. to brings attendees oysters, shrimp and little-neck clams from seven local oyster farms.

There will also be live music, with a 2 p.m. headlining performance by Johnny Hoy & The Bluefish.  JP’s Twisted BBQ will be on site all day long with a limited food menu that’s not oysters. Admission is $10 to $60; https://capecodbeer.com/.

Volunteers Rick and Linda Sharp at the first Oktoberfest at Cape Cod Museum of Art. This year's event will be held Saturday, Oct. 1.
Volunteers Rick and Linda Sharp at the first Oktoberfest at Cape Cod Museum of Art. This year's event will be held Saturday, Oct. 1.

Oktoberfest in Dennis

Cape Cod Museum of Art will hold its second annual Oktoberfest, which will include  beer, food and games, from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1 at its 60 Hope Lane, Dennis location. The event (lederhosen and dirndls options, museum officials say) offers beer and food tastings featuring local breweries and restaurants, live music, games and raffles.

Tickets ($50, $45 for members) buy five beer-tasting tickets, six for food tastings, a commemorative pint-sized and logo-ed beer glass, a full pint of the beer you choose as the winner and free museum tours. Attendees will vote for favorite beer and food, and winners will get trophies. Tickets and information: https://www.ccmoa.org/oktoberfest, 508- 385-4477.

Dancing will again be part of the Wampanoag Cultural Celebration at Highfield Hall & Gardens.
Dancing will again be part of the Wampanoag Cultural Celebration at Highfield Hall & Gardens.

Wampanoag Cultural Celebration

Highfield Hall & Gardens will partner with the Wampanoag Tribal Nation and the Rotary Club of Falmouth to present the second annual Wampanoag Cultural Celebration Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2 throughout the property at 56 Highfield Drive, Falmouth. The family-friendly, free event is designed to be both fun and educational as a way, hall officials say, “to celebrate and raise awareness of the culture and history of local tribes whose ancestral lands include Cape Cod, the Islands, and reach to Marshfield, the Blue Hills and parts of southeast Massachusetts."

Local economy: First Light Shellfish Farm brings economic sustainability to Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Hands-on activities will include making corn husk dolls, clay beads, and quahog shell rattles; live music; watching the Wampanoag Singers and Dancers; food trucks specializing in Native fare; and gift vendors specializing in Native American crafted items. The hall is also presenting a new educational exhibit focused on King Philip's War, a lesser-known part of local history. Information: https://highfieldhallandgardens.org/.

Contact Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll at kdriscoll@capecodonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @KathiSDCCT.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod October: 6 beer, oyster, harvest, Wampanoag celebrations