There was music, dancing and of course beer as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne tapped the keg at the opening ceremonies of the 49th annual Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest.
Wynne did the ceremonial tapping of the keg with KW Oktoberfest President Margo Jones outside of Kitchener City Hall Friday afternoon.
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“Forty-nine years strong, growing the community, strengthening the community,” Wynne told the packed crowd of revelers at Carl Zehr Square. “Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, (and) a safe and happy Oktoberfest.”
She was flanked by fellow provincial party leaders, Patrick Brown of the PCs and the NDP’s Andrea Horwath, along with other local, federal, and provincial politicians.
Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic made the official proclamation and in an interview with CJOY News he praised the work of volunteers involved in Oktoberfest.
“We have close to 500 volunteers that are involved in KW Oktoberfest, plus the ones with all the service clubs and so on, and literally they dedicate thousands of hours over the course of the year and during the festival to make it happen,” Vrabanovic said.
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The opening ceremonies kicked off nine days of events and celebrations around the Waterloo Region and many travelled from far away to partake like Steve Shewhart, who drove all the way from Pennsylvania.
“It’s always such a fun party and you meet such great people, everybody is always so friendly at these stags,” he said. “It’s just always a good time.”
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