Swing dancing, beer festivities and family activities fill three days at Clarketoberfest, a three-day fall festival on the Harley Clarke Mansion grounds starting Friday, Oct. 16.

The event runs through Sunday, Oct. 18, on the east lawn of the historic lakefront property at 2603 Sheridan Road, next to the Grosse Point Lighthouse. Admission to the grounds is free throughout the weekend; Friday’s swing dancing is ticketed.

Friday night is swing night. Chicago nonprofit Traffic Jam Swing brings a live band, a beginner lesson from 6:15 to 7 p.m. and social dancing until 10 p.m. Evanston resident Ben Janasiak of Hatchet Burger will serve food Friday evening and throughout the weekend. Friday tickets are $15 for entry or $20 with a drink, and the event is capped at 150 people.

Saturday shifts to Oktoberfest mode from 3 to 10 p.m., with beer flights from the Harley Clarke Beer Company, live music, a stein-holding competition, games, root beer and s'mores.

Sunday is Family Day from noon to 7 p.m. Kids can paint pumpkins, get their faces painted and catch a performance by Chicago children's entertainer Jeanie B! at 1 p.m. The Bears game will also be on.

Hatchet Burger food will be available all three days. Janasiak, a culinary school graduate, launched the pop-up operation after years in fine dining. He told the Daily Northwestern in October 2025 that he started Hatchet Burger to move away from fine dining and reach more people in a casual setting.

Clarketoberfest is part of a series of pop-up events Celadon Partners has hosted on the mansion lawn since securing a 40-year lease from the city in 2025 to restore the nearly century-old landmark. The Chicago Sun-Times reported in September that the Evanston Historic Preservation Commission approved Celadon's plans for a $30 million redevelopment. The project would turn the mansion into an event venue with a coffee shop and restaurant. The developer is seeking $12 million in historic tax credits and still needs approvals from the Land Use Commission and City Council.

Celadon CEO Scott Henry told the Sun-Times in September that the project "has been an evolution, and it's been because we've listened to the community."

The Harley Clarke Beer Company, part of the redevelopment plan, will brew more than a dozen beers through a partner brewery on Chicago's North Side. Some recipes were found inside the mansion's walls during early work on the building, according to the Sun-Times.

Celadon hopes to begin construction in March 2027 and open for events in early 2028. The mansion's east lawn beer garden's normal hours are Fridays and Saturdays from 3 to 8 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 7 p.m., according to the mansion's website.

Friday swing night tickets are available at the Traffic Jam Swing website.