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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Ottumwa's 39th annual Oktoberfest is right around the corner and organizers are already hard at work getting ready for the big event.

The festival unofficially kicks off Tuesday with the Ottumwa Rotary Club's Chicken Barbeque Tuesday, October 2. Then after things get going on Wednesday, it's all about beer, brats, music and the community getting together.

"They know they're going to meet people that they haven't seen for quite a while, so they come down - good camaraderie, come down and have a sandwich and beverage and just socialize," said Oktoberfest Committee Chair Jack Guiter. "So that's probably my favorite time is I see people that I haven't seen maybe since last year and many times years before."

This year's Oktoberfest is a mix of tradition and new. They will serve their usual Johnsonville brats, but this year will also have native Iowa wins available in the tent.

Highlights of the week include:

-Wednesday: Tent open 11 a.m.-11 p.m., carnival, Mr. Fugly concert

-Thursday: Tent open 11 a.m.-midnight, wristband night at the carnival, The Crushers concert

-Friday: Lowly  Brass and Eight Seconds concert, Kiddie Parade at 6 p.m., oompah band, 6-7:30 p.m.

-Saturday: Oktober Fest parade, 10 a.m., Karaoke, 2-5:30 p.m., Lowly Brass, 6-7:30 p.m., Says Who, 8 p.m.