Munich opens its 191st Oktoberfest on Saturday, but Cincinnati will already have been partying for two days, and Denver and a Georgia mountain town have been going even longer. American Oktoberfests have grown so large and run so long that their schedules now follow local traditions and tourism calendars rather than Munich’s dates. The polka bands, the liter steins and the oom-pah are already going, and the best celebrations may be closer than most people think.
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