Three events overlap in Crossville over the weekend of October 16 to 18. The 35th Annual Crossville Oktoberfest runs Friday and Saturday at the Knights of Columbus grounds on Highway 70 East. The Historic Palace Theatre holds a free one-night premiere of "Tennessee Bigfoot 3" on Friday evening. The 2026 Upper Cumberland Bigfoot Festival takes over the Community Complex on Livingston Road on Saturday and Sunday.
Oktoberfest publishes the same hours and the same band rotation for both of its days. That makes the choice between Friday and Saturday easy. Each Bigfoot event happens on a different day, so the Bigfoot pieces are what set the shape of each day.
Oktoberfest Has the Same Schedule on Both Days
Gates are open from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Central Time on Friday and on Saturday. Three bands rotate on stage. The first set is at 11:30, the next is at 1 p.m., and from there sets change every hour through the last one at 8 p.m. The posted band schedule is the same for both days.
| Set time | Friday, Oct. 16 | Saturday, Oct. 17 |
|---|---|---|
| 11:30 a.m. | Plateau Old Time German Band | Plateau Old Time German Band |
| 1 p.m. | Radio Incorporated | Radio Incorporated |
| 2 p.m. | Frank Moravcik Band | Frank Moravcik Band |
| 3 p.m. | Plateau Old Time German Band | Plateau Old Time German Band |
| 4 p.m. | Radio Incorporated | Radio Incorporated |
| 5 p.m. | Frank Moravcik Band | Frank Moravcik Band |
| 6 p.m. | Plateau Old Time German Band | Plateau Old Time German Band |
| 7 p.m. | Radio Incorporated | Radio Incorporated |
| 8 p.m. | Frank Moravcik Band | Frank Moravcik Band |
The food is the same both days too. The full dinner is $17. It comes with one of five meats, sides and dessert. The meat choices are pork schnitzel, chicken schnitzel, knackwurst, smoked bratwurst or weisswurst. A hot dog dinner costs $5. The food line closes at 8 p.m., 90 minutes before the gates do. If you arrive late, plan to eat before the last Moravcik set.
Tickets cost the same whichever day you go. A single-day ticket is $9 in advance or $11 at the gate. Children 12 and under get in free, and so do active-duty and retired military with ID. Parking is free, according to the festival's FAQ.
If you want to hear the Plateau Old-Time German Band before the festival, they play downtown two weeks earlier. Friday at the Crossroads comes back to Main Street on October 2 with an Oktoberfest theme. The band plays from 5 to 7 p.m. Social Brew and Cofer's Garage are pouring, and more than 100 vendors have signed up. It is the last Crossroads event of 2026. The event runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Street closures start around 3:30 to 3:45 p.m. on Main Street from Highway 70 to Neecham Avenue, and on parts of First, Second, Fourth, Fifth and Stanley streets.
The Bigfoot Events Fall on Different Days
The Bigfoot side of the weekend has a new feature this year. Center Hill Events took over the Upper Cumberland Bigfoot Festival for 2026 and made it two days long. In its announcement, the company said:
"We're proud to carry on this local tradition and bring a fresh energy to one of the region's most loved festivals."
The longer festival lines up with Oktoberfest on Saturday and runs one extra day into Sunday. Add the Palace premiere on Friday night, and each day of the weekend has its own Bigfoot event. Oktoberfest stays the same throughout.
The festival listing advertises:
- More than 100 vendors and more than 15 food trucks
- Live music and contests
- Meet-and-greets with Mountain Man, Turtle Man and Swamp Man
- A talk by guest speaker Jim Powell & Team
- A Bigfoot calling contest on both days, judged by Turtle Man and Swamp Man
- "Wrestling with Bigfoot"
Admission is $10, and children 5 and under get in free. The county's event page lists the Community Complex at 1398 Livingston Rd. The organizer's listing says Cumberland County Fairgrounds at 1391 Livingston Rd. The fair grounds and the Community Complex are the same place on Livingston Road, the same grounds that hosted the Cumberland County Fair August 17 to 22.
Friday Is the Only Day With Oktoberfest and a Free Movie
Friday is the busiest day to schedule. The premiere starts at 7 p.m. at the Palace, 72 S. Main St., and admission is free. At that hour Oktoberfest is still running, with Radio Incorporated on stage and the Frank Moravcik Band coming up next. Since the band schedule is the same on Saturday, you can catch those two sets the next day and lose nothing by leaving early Friday.
Here is one way to sequence Friday:
- Get to the Knights of Columbus grounds by midafternoon. From 3 p.m. on, each band plays once every three hours, so if you arrive by 3 you can hear all three bands before you leave for downtown.
- Order dinner before about 6 p.m. so you have time to finish and drive downtown.
- Get to the Palace on South Main Street before the 7 p.m. premiere. The listing doesn't mention reservations or capacity, so arriving early is the safer choice.
The Palace listing doesn't say who made "Tennessee Bigfoot 3" or where it was filmed. It is listed as a one-night premiere. The Palace has two other October shows: Forever Abbey Road, a Beatles tribute, on October 3, and Fins Up, a Jimmy Buffett tribute, on October 10. Both start at 7 p.m.
Saturday Is the Only Day Both Festivals Are Open
On Saturday the Bigfoot Festival and Oktoberfest are both open. If you want both on the same day, this is it. Ticket rules differ between the two gates, which matters for families. Oktoberfest lets children through age 12 in free. The Bigfoot Festival's free age stops at 5. Take two adults and a 9-year-old buying Oktoberfest tickets in advance. That comes to $18 at Oktoberfest and $30 at the Bigfoot Festival.
Times are where you need to double-check. The county page and the Visit Cookeville listing give the festival's start as 10 a.m. Saturday and its end as 3 p.m. Sunday. Another listing gives 11 a.m. Saturday to 4 p.m. Sunday. None of these listings gives daily closing hours. Doing the Bigfoot Festival in the morning and Oktoberfest in the afternoon and evening is safe under any version, because Oktoberfest stays open until 9:30 p.m.
Sunday Is Bigfoot Only, and It Ends Early
By Sunday Oktoberfest is over, and the Bigfoot Festival is the only one of the three still going. The calling contest is listed for both days, so if you missed the Saturday round, you can catch Sunday's. The festival closes at 3 p.m. Sunday by the county's schedule. Plan on a late morning or early afternoon there rather than a full day.
Road Work to Know About
TDOT's roadway report for September 24 to 30 lists several Cumberland County projects:
- Main Street resurfacing: Work on SR-28 between Miller Avenue and Elmore Road is in its final stages. Night work may run from Sunday night through Friday morning, 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., with flaggers and lane closures. That window doesn't include Friday or Saturday night.
- US-70/SR-24 bridge: The road is still fully closed between the Crossville city limits and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and School while crews replace the bridge over the Obed River. The posted detour uses SR-462 and SR-1. The report gives no updated finish date.
- US-127 north of I-40: Grading and paving continue toward Potato Farm Road. Lawson Road is still closed, with a detour on Tabor Road.
- I-40 resurfacing: Crews are working nightly between mile markers 306.2 and 311, from Sunday night through Friday morning, 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
TDOT puts out a new report every week. Check the one dated closer to October 16 before you head out Friday.
If family is coming up for Oktoberfest and the talk at dinner turns to what life on the plateau costs, Jim Swafford can walk you through Cumberland County with clear, practical answers. Let's Connect.
