Rather than just keeping it a royal affair, the newlyweds invited Munich's common folk to be a part of the celebrations. That was the wedding day of Bavaria's Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen. This global celebration of Bavarian culture is traced back to Oct.
So get out your beer steins, don your dirndls or lederhosen and bring a hearty appetite for German food to celebrations both big and small around the suburbs and Chicago.
Deidre Crane of Lake Zurich samples the beer at last year's Rotary Club of Palatine Oktoberfest.