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Kitchener waterloo oktoberfest 2011 the beer reporter
Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest is an annual nine-day festival in the twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Based on the original German Oktoberfest, it is billed as Canada's Greatest Bavarian Festival, and is the second-largest Oktoberfest in the world. It is held every October, starting on the Friday before Canadian Thanksgiving and running until the Saturday after. Estimates indicate that the event attracts roughly 700,000 visitors every year.
Contents
- Kitchener waterloo oktoberfest 2011 the beer reporter
- Kitchener waterloo oktoberfest parade 2016
- Clubs and Festhalls
- Events
- References
While its best-known draws are the beer-based celebrations, other cultural and entertainment attractions also fill the week. The most well-known is the parade held on Thanksgiving Day; as the only major parade on Canadian Thanksgiving, it is televised throughout Canada and portions of the northern United States on CTV. During the 2016 Oktoberfest parade, an estimated 150,000 people lined the streets along the route.
The twin cities and the surrounding areas of Waterloo County, Ontario have a long history of German roots; Kitchener was formerly named Berlin. Many of the Canadians of German ethnicity reside in or near these municipalities. Many still speak German as well. A common phrase at the celebrations is Gemütlichkeit, German for congeniality, or warm friendliness. This word is even programmed into the bus route displays, so during Oktoberfest it will show the route and Gemütlichkeit, or Willkommen.
The festival's mascot is Onkel Hans, a rotund man in Bavarian dress with a thick moustache, lederhosen, and a traditional felt hat with tassel. His graphical image shows him holding a beer stein in one hand, and a sausage (in a roll) in the other. A lesser-known icon is his counterpart Tante Frieda, a similarly stout woman wearing a dirndl.
Another icon of the festival is Miss Oktoberfest. This position was formerly selected in a televised beauty pageant, the applicant coming from across Waterloo Region. The position is now selected by a closed committee of judges from a panel of local applicants; community involvement and personal character form the main criteria under the new system.
Kitchener waterloo oktoberfest parade 2016
Clubs and Festhalls
Many celebrations in the festival take place in festhallen; these venues serve beer (Molson Coors Brewing Company is the exclusive corporate sponsor) and traditional foods, and host traditional dancing and music, particularly polkas. The major festhalls are operated by the German clubs based in the cities:
Other festhalls and biergartens are operated out of existing bars, clubs, and other venues in the cities, which take on Germanic names (such as Karlsberghaus, Altes Muenchen Haus, and Ruedesheimer Garten) for the festival events. In 2010, festhalls opened for the first time in Cambridge and Elmira.
Events
Based on traditional Pennsylvania Dutch and local Mennonite Hex designs, the 24 Hex symbols under the eaves of the Timeteller were designed and painted by Kitchener artist Otto Werner.
Single events that take place over the week include: