The surge in energy was obvious last year when the Kiwanis Club of Redmond and Wild Ride Brewing came together for the first time at the downtown Redmond brewery for Kiwanis’ annual Oktoberfest event.

More than 1,500 beer-loving attendees braved unseasonably chilly weather to participate in the two-day event, raising a significant amount of money for local charities.

“It’s been a lot better situation down there,” said Noah von Borstel, past president of Redmond Kiwanis, which organizes the Redmond Oktoberfest. “We get a lot of help from (Wild Ride). It’s been mutually beneficial. They want to help us make money and we want to help them make money. It’s been our best location so far.”

The 8th Annual Oktoberfest event will be back at Wild Ride on Friday, Sept. 25, and Saturday, Sept. 26. And this year organizers are hoping to draw around 2,000 to celebrate the traditional German holiday.

“Having that downtown presence, I think has been a big help for the event,” said Wild Ride manager Bryan Mitchell, a Redmond native, adding that Kiwanis and the brewery have forged a strong partnership with the event. “We are very excited to hopefully have an even bigger event this year.

“This is my hometown and there is that pride factor,” Mitchell added. “It’s cool that we have the ability to do events like this and participate in events that give back to Redmond.”

What has made Oktoberfest among Redmond’s most popular events? Like any great German-style celebration, start with plenty of beer, food, music and family-friendly activities.

Wild Ride will be on hand serving up its tastiest creations. The Redmond brewery will be joined by 30 others, including Central Oregon favorites such as Cascade Lakes Brewing, Deschutes Brewery, Good Life Brewing Co., McMenamins, Smith Rock Brewing, Worthy Brewing and Atlas Cider Co.

Traditional German food such as bratwurst and German potato salad will be served, along with hot dogs, cole slaw and an array of Wild Ride food carts.

An all-Central Oregon lineup of musicians — including Derek Michael Marc & “Double AA” (6-10 p.m.) on Friday, and GOODLIFE (noon-2 p.m.), The Silver Foxes (3-5 p.m.), and Shaniko (6-10 p.m.) on Saturday — will also be providing much of the entertainment.

A cornhole tournament and home-brewing competition and demonstration should only add to the fun.

Most of all, the event was designed to be family-friendly. For children, a free “Kid Zone” offers access to bounce houses and balloon artists all day.

“Kids can be set free to have fun over in the kids zone, and the parents can enjoy it with them,” von Borstel said. “And, if they want to part ways for a moment and go over and enjoy some beer, they can. It’s a nice, flexible event to have fun.”

All of the net proceeds collected by the Redmond Kiwanis Oktoberfest event will be donated to Central Oregon community organizations.

For more information, visit www.redmondkiwanis.org.