Dust of Your Lederhosen and Celebrate Oktoberfest at the Beau Rivage 2011 Craft Beer Festival in Biloxi October 21

How can you resist a celebration that offers a buffet of traditional German food, particularly when you have the opportunity to sample over 120 artisan beers from well-known breweries and microbreweries around the nation? Combine that with a polka band and you have the ultimate Oktoberfest celebration.

Those in the Biloxi area have an opportunity for a fun filled evening at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. Whether you enjoy lifting a stein, simply want to sample the wares of craft breweries, want to indulge in the Bavarian buffet or simply want to dance the night away, there's something for everyone on October 21 from 7-10 pm on the second floor pool deck.

Participating Breweries include:

Bayou Teche Brewing, Covington Brewhouse, Heiner Brau, Shock Top,

Diamond Bear, Beck's, Tommy Knocker, Widmer,

Redhook, Stevens Point, Cayman Jack, Rogue Ales,

Boddington Pub Ale, Brouwerij Lindemans, Flying Dog Brewery, Spaten,

Guiness, Red Stripe, Newcastle, InBev,

Shiner Brewery, Hornsby Brewery, Carlsberg USA, Dos Equis,

Pilsner Urquell, Lazy Magnolia, Green Moutain Beverage (Woodchuck Cider),

Spanish Peaks Brewing Company, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company,

Jacob Leinenkugel Brewery, Weihenstephaner Brewery, Tallgrass,

They'll be brew masters available to answer any questions you have from how they make the beer to the type of food that goes best with it.

If beer isn't your Achilles heel, maybe the authentic Bavarian buffet is more to your liking. Think of any traditional German food and you'll find it at the buffet. You can pile your plate full of knockwurst, bratwurst or wiesswurst. Ask for another plate of sauerbraten or knodel potato dumplings. Fill your plate with Spätzle, himmel und erde or sauerkraut. Go back for seconds of the German pastries. If you're still hungry, munch the night away on a giant Wiesnbrezn Oktoberfest pretzel. You'll find a large assortment of mustards, Butterkäse, Bierkäse Korbkäse and Cambozola cheeses to go with it.

Of course, after the meal, you'll want to dance off the extra calories and you can. There's no more fitting a band than the Polka Dots to help those calories disappear. You can enjoy this evening for the price of $65 plus taxes and fees. Tickets are available through tickemaster.com, beaurivage.com by phone or in person. If you don't want to drink and drive, Beau Rivage has the perfect package with a combination ticket and room (double occupancy) for only $170 if you mention the promo BEERFEST. (There's more festivities following the Oktoberfest with another live band and DJ at the Coast nightclub)