Quilts, Classic Cars and a Very Long Streak: Lebanon’s Oktoberfest Returns to West Main Oct. 17-18
Every October, one stretch of West Main Street in Lebanon quietly turns into a festival ground. This year the date to circle is Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17-18, 2026, when Wilson Bank & Trust's Oktoberfest returns to the bank's main office lawn at 623 West Main Street.
The hours follow the pattern regulars know by heart: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Despite the name, this is not a beer-hall affair. It is a community fall festival in the oldest sense of the phrase, a place where you run into your neighbors, your kid's former teacher and the person who sold you a quilt three years ago.
What to expect
The organizers have not yet released a full 2026 program, so the best guide is the recent past. Last year's festival promoted more than 100 local vendors, over 25 food vendors, live entertainment, photography and quilt displays and a children's corner, along with an antique car show and a photography contest. Admission to recent editions has been free. If any of that changes this year, the bank's events page is the place to check before you load up the car.
The festival is also a long-running one. A 2023 listing billed that year's event as the 35th annual, which, if the count has held, puts this fall's gathering at roughly the 38th.
Making a day of it
West Main sits a short drive from the heart of Lebanon, so a visit pairs easily with a loop around the square. Lebanon opened its new Downtown Square Park this summer, and it makes a natural second stop. If you are building a fall weekend, our Fall and Halloween family guide lists the rest of the season, and the weekly family roundup covers what is happening sooner.
A practical note for anyone searching for it: there is more than one “Lebanon Oktoberfest” on the internet, because Lebanon, Ohio, holds its own festival on a different date. The one described here is in Lebanon, Tennessee, at the Wilson Bank & Trust main office.
With a crowd likely, arriving early on Saturday is the safer plan.
