What’s the best thing about October? Is it cooler weather or the free Four Peaks Oktoberfest?

If you think it’s the latter, celebrate this Friday through Sunday, Oct. 13-15, at Tempe Town Lake with a slew of activities including karaoke, a soccer tournament, live music, beer tasting, wine tasting, Superhero Sunday, costume contests for all ages, a heroes parade, a Peach Ale Brunch on Sunday, Dachshund races and a carnival for all ages.

“(Four Peaks Oktoberfest) has a great reputation because we are open during the day and offer really nice family-friendly activities like Superhero Sunday ,” Larry West, event chairman, says.

New to this year’s fest is the four-versus-four soccer tournament where about 100 teams will compete on small fields with no goalies during 15-minute games. The winning team brings home the trophy.

The carnival on-site will offer rides and games for adults and children for a fee. Try your hand at the bucket toss, roller derby or giant Jenga or let your tikes run off some energy on the Dizzy Dragons or Fun Slide.

One of the biggest draws at this Oktoberfest every year is the Dachshund races. Produced by Arizona Adopt a Greyhound, this race is by invitation only. Just over 30 professional dogs will go nose-to-nose to see who is the quickest.

Also new to this year’s event is Superhero Sunday. It’s a day of superheroes for all ages with costume contests for kids and adults. A parade of superheroes within Tempe Beach Park will take place at 1:30 p.m.

With one stage dedicated to polka music, there is no shortage of live entertainment at this event. The Wes Williams Band headlines on Friday, Fayuca on Saturday and Mogollon on Sunday. All headline performances will take place on the Four Peaks Lakefront Stage.

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The Sunday Peach Ale Brunch will be by the Four Peaks Beer Garden Stage on the east lawn from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Four Peaks Peach Ale will be the featured drink, but all beers and wines will also be available. Live entertainment during the brunch will be by Analog Outlaws and Luxxe.

Food, beer and wine are also a big part of this celebration. Four Peaks will have nine different beers to choose from, and Barefoot Wine will supply the vino. For noshing, there will be five bratwurst service tents, carnival food, the Island Noodles food truck and desserts.

“We saw how successful the Tempe Oktoberfest was and how it brought Tempe and the surrounding cities together to celebrate the fall and the cool weather, so we wanted to be a part of it,” co-founder of Four Peaks Brewing Co. Jim Scussel says.

Though this event is free admission, VIP tickets that include access to lakeside shaded tents, larger restrooms and food and drink are available for purchase.

Four Peaks Oktoberfest

When: 5 p.m.-midnight Friday, 10 a.m.-midnight Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13-15.

Where: Tempe Town Lake, 80 E. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe.

Admission: Free.

Details: fourpeaksoktoberfest.com.

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