It can usually be assumed that on any given Saturday during the fall, if the football Hawkeyes play, Iowa City will watch. Things were no different at this past weekend’s Oktoberfest and Brewfest, in which festival organizers used one of the largest screens in the state to draw people to the North Side.

On Sept. 24, to celebrate the 17th-annual North Side Oktoberfest, the sidewalks of Market Street were lined with a vast assortment of beers and brewers, paying testament to the city’s long and storied brewing history.

Early on, the weather report called for rain, but as the day went on, things began to clear up. By the time the crowds started arriving, the clouds had dissipated, and the Sun was streaming brightly across the festival, with an occasional breeze making the heat tolerable.

The presence of the vast crowds in attendance made the usually calm North Side Marketplace nearly unrecognizable. Walking in, you were forced to weave through people, dogs, babies, and strollers in order to get anywhere. Signs signaling attractions sporting beer-related anecdotes were spread across the festival. One such sign noted the exact distance — 4,644 miles — from Iowa City to Munich, Germany, where the festival had been founded more than 100 years ago.

Walking the streets, beer tents spread back as far as the eye could see.

Local and international breweries of all sizes boasted a number of beers to choose from — usually something fruity, something bitter and hoppy, and a larger specifically for Oktoberfest. There were some well-established brands, such as 515 and Goose Island, but many local to Iowa breweries could be seen in attendance as well.

Local restaurants — ranging from Hamburg Inn No. 2 to Panchero’s — made appearances as well, some offering different takes on staples of German food, including a bacon bratwurst with homemade pickles from Devotay.

However, the festival had far more than beer and bratwurst to offer. For younger attendees, there was the Sodafest, which offered space for kids to run around away from the mainstage of the festival and take part in their own fun. Many a sweating baby was seen swaddled in their parent’s arms, bucket hat perched at an angle to keep the sunlight off their face.

The festival also boasted more German-inspired events, such as Hammerschlagen. Using a blacksmith hammer, players take turns trying to drive nails into a wooden stump, and whoever gets theirs flush against the wood first wins. While some participants were still able to use at least a fraction of their hand-eye coordination, and thus were able to complete their task in a reasonable amount of time, some, who had clearly been drinking for the better part of the day, took much, much longer.

Also available was the self-explanatory keg bowling, which lived up to its promise as the festival’s loudest activity.