By Jim Knippenberg / Enquirer staff writer

While Cincinnati's final summer blowout weekend is still two weeks away (Reds and Bengals games, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, P&G Ohio Classic, Van Halen), you can tune-up in Northern Kentucky next weekend at two big festivals.

The MainStrasse Village Oktoberfest is Friday through Sunday and expected to draw 250,000 visitors, and the Campbell County Marching Band Festival is Saturday, with an expected draw of 15,000.

• MainStrasse Oktoberfest: Mainstrasse's 26th annual Oktoberfest has 27 restaurants and more than 100 arts-and-crafts vendors covering six blocks of Covington's Sixth Street.

Food is the centerpiece with several restaurants selling brats, metts, goetta, roasted corn, strudel, ham, sauerkraut and Chinese and Italian dishes.

There's also continuous entertainment on three stages of music, everything from pure German to rock, blues and karaoke.

Catch it 5-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday and noon-9 p.m. next Sunday; admission is free.

• Marching Band Compeitition: Further to the south, Campbell County High School hosts the oldest marching band competition in the area, drawing 26 bands from a 200 mile radius for an all day festival.

Bands, complete with colorguards, get 12 minutes to play and can use any props to enhance the music. One will use 8-foot canvas sails for its "Symphony of Exploration." Last year, a team pulled out a Greek temple, while another incorporated a disassembled airplane.Visitors will hear everything from traditional marching band fare to show tunes, classics and jazz. All kinds of food is available.

Events run from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday at Bob Miller Stadium, 8000 Alexandria Pike, Alexandria. It's $5, $3 for students.

E-mail jknippenberg@enquirer.com