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(clockwise from top left) Dancers in traditional Bavarian costume; the Schottenhamel tent, where Munich's mayor taps the first keg each Oktoberfest; carnival rides at the festival grounds; a server delivers Spaten-brand Märzen beer in one of the Festhallen; a boy dressed in lederhosen for the festival's opening-day parade. end Oktoberfest each year, consuming more than king it the biggest beer festival in the world. summer harvest, brewers needed to empty their remaining casks for the new brewing season, so it made sense to throw a big party. For the modern-day incarnation of the festival, 14 Festhallen (beer "tents" that are actually semi-permanent wooden structures) are erected in the heart of Munich, (ride) iStock, Imagebroker/Alamy/All Canada Photos p36-43_Oktoberfest.indd 39 on the 0.42-square-kilometre fairgrounds known as Theresienwiese (Therese's field), or the Wies'n for short. These massive structures hold up to 10,000 people apiece, and each one is affiliated with one of six Munich breweries: Augustiner, HackerPschorr, Hofbräu, Löwenbräu, Paulaner and Spaten. Each tent serves only Märzen from its own brewery. Accommodation during Oktoberfest is expensive and hard to find: book early or be prepared to stay on the outskirts of the city and commute on the U-bahn (metro) or S-bahn (aboveground train). We've GOING PL ACES >> Fa l l 2 0 1 3 39 13-08-14 1:27 PM