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Friday 6 to Saturday 14, October 2006 Canada's Great Bavarian Festival — Oktoberfest is an annual eight-day festival in the twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, While its best known for beer drinking there are other more cultural entertainments such as a fashion show. Thanksgiving Day Parade Thanksgiving, known as harvest-home or harvest festival in England was originally a religious service celebrating the end of the harvest. The Canadian growing season is shorter than the American one so it is held earlier in Canada. In the States it now allied to the arrival and Santa Cause and the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. In Kitchener it allied with drinking beer. Kitchener was founded by German speaking immigrants. The city was called Berlin until the first world war when it became politically advisable to change the name to Kitchener, Kitchener was the British secretary of state for war and a former General. Onkel Hans is the festival's mascot. He is jovial small round man in lederhosen, a felt hat with what look like a feather, but is really a tassel, and a beer stein in hand. Miss Oktoberfest 2006 has yet to be chosen. Candidates have to be High School graduates between nineteen and twenty-five. They must be single, never have been married, or had a child, and they must live within 80 kms of Kitchener-Waterloo and there is a $100 non-refundable entry fee. The festival website has photos and brief biographies of the last three Miss Oktoberfest. The selection of Miss Oktoberfest used to be done during a televised beauty pageant. However dumb blonds are no longer in vogue and community involvement and personal character are more important criteria. Miss Oktoberfest has to be a worthy representative of the community. Here be the www.oktoberfest.ca: the website of K-W Oktoberfest. |
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