Oktober to Fest at Wirtshaus and Rasselbock

Halloween?

It's often slapped with the label "excuse," as in, "it's an excuse to dress in daft fashion, to stay up late, to eat buckets of candy, to carve funny faces on small squashes."

But that isn't really fair, is it? For the old holiday gives us gifts beyond the chance to live a little large for a night.

Something equally as let-loose-y arrives a few weeks ahead of the haunting occasion, a party that also happens to involve dressing up in clothes we don't usually wear, and devouring decadent dishes, and dancing in front of strangers.

It's Oktoberfest, of course, but unlike Halloween, the straight-from-Munich merriment lasts over several select days, starting in September.

And that run of dance-ready days will begin on Sept. 21 at both Wirtshaus German Restaurant and Biergarten on La Brea Avenue and both Rasselbocks, including the location in Long Beach and the one in Mar Vista.

What can you expect at this Teutonic-themed to-dos?

The holding of steins will be part of it, yes, and no, it isn't as easy as it might initially look.

Special events will be happening throughout the Oktoberfestian run at all three establishments, so stay tuned. And will the ceremonial tapping of the kegs also come with some pomp?

You bet. "Celebrity" guests will be tapping the kegs on the afternoon of Sept. 21, and other convivialities will follow that day, and every day that Oktoberfest is on at all three places.

Just be sure to check hours and the schedule at the particular place you want to visit.

And, of course, be sure to don your dirndl, your lederhosen, your pretzel glasses, or anything else that fits the moment.

For dressing up, and cutting a little loose, is part of this particular party. That Wirtshaus and both Rasselbocks'll be revving up their revels just before fall ups the "Prost!"-like spirit of these tried-and-true Oktoberfest bashes.