Oktoberfest may have started in Munich, but we have loved helping one of our corporate clients make the tradition their own right here in Knoxville. Since 2022, we have helped their annual Oktoberfest event grow from a gathering at Schulz Bräu Brewing Company into a full-scale experience at The Mill & Mine, complete with games, German-inspired food, festive entertainment and plenty of friendly competition. But what makes this event especially meaningful is that it is about much more than pretzels and steins.

More Than a Company Party

At its core, this annual event combines corporate team building, employee engagement and charitable giving. Employees form teams and pay an entry fee to compete, while the company covers the hard costs of producing the event. The money raised is donated to a local nonprofit selected through an employee vote. That added layer of involvement creates real buy-in. Employees have a voice in where the donation goes, a reason to rally around their teams and an opportunity to give back together.

Why Annual Company Events Work

One of our favorite things about recurring corporate events is watching them evolve year over year. Teams form earlier. Outfits get planned. Friendly rivalries develop. Participation grows. From a planning standpoint, each year also gives us the chance to build on what worked, adjust what did not and introduce something new. Tradition gives you a foundation. The fun comes from continuing to build on it.

Planning Your Own Corporate Oktoberfest?

A strong theme gives you plenty of room to create around it. A few Oktoberfest party ideas we have loved include:

-Stein holding competitions
-Pretzel tosses
-Flip cup and beer pong
-Hammerschlag
-German-inspired food stations
-Festive hats and branded koozies
-Accordion or polka entertainment
-Team-based bracket competitions

One of the biggest lessons we have learned?
The theme should create the framework, but your employees should shape the experience. Traditional Oktoberfest music may make perfect sense on paper, but once we got to know this audience, we learned they were ready for Top 40, hip-hop and R&B when the competition wrapped. Knowing your attendees is just as important as knowing your theme.

A Few Things We Have Learned Along the Way

If you are planning a large corporate team building event from scratch, give yourself time. We recommend around six months for planning, with specialty entertainment booked even earlier when possible. Clear communication matters too. Game rules, event details and Know Before You Go information should be shared before guests arrive and reinforced onsite. And make sure you have enough hands on deck. A seamless guest experience often requires a game master, scoring support, vendor oversight, activity resets and onsite troubleshooting happening all at once.

When Your Internal Team Needs More Bandwidth

Corporate events are often assigned to someone in HR, marketing, communications or administration who already has a very full plate. That is where we come in! At Holloway Event Co., we work as an extension of our clients’ internal teams, helping turn an idea into an experience through creative development, vendor sourcing, logistics, staffing and onsite execution. Whether the theme is Oktoberfest, company Olympics, casino night, a fall festival, karaoke competition or something completely new, the goal is the same:

Create an experience that brings people together, leaves a lasting impression and gives employees something worth looking forward to next year.