Canada’s Great Bavarian Festival
Blog post written by: Kirsten Bartel
A taste of Bavaria in Canada! This year marks the 41st anniversary of the German-Canadian Bavarian Oktoberfest in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, an annual nine-day festival based on the original southern German Oktoberfest tradition and is the largest Oktoberfest celebration outside Munich, Germany. Be sure to take your jacket as it will be cool — and it is cool! so if you can make it down to southern Ontario, check out Oktoberfest 2009 which is still taking place until Saturday October 17, 2009.
Besides the usual beer-based celebrations and traditional festival attractions, there are some truly interesting cultural and entertaining events you should make a point to attend. No matter what kind of experience you are looking for, with over 40 events taking place across Kitchener-Waterloo through the week, there is something for everyone! You can find music, crafts, sports, traditional German culture in Canada or other family oriented festivities to make your Oktoberfest experience personal and filled with Gemütlichkeit!
Today, October 13, 2009, you can participate in the German Pioneers Day, a free event which explores the contributions of the local German immigrants to Ontario and Canada. Or perhaps you would like to take a Ride to Die For (Murder Mystery Train) which embarks the Waterloo Railway Station on October 15, 2009. You can take a sun set trip into North Waterloo County, where something terrible will happen just after dinner — a mystery which you will have to figure out. This trip includes a Bavarian style dinner, special prizes and much more. Adults only.
You can also experience Ernte (Harvest Festival) at the Joseph Schneider Haus, Kitchener's oldest Mennonite homestead, from October 10, 2009 to October 18, 2009. For nine days, you can see how the farming family prepared for winter in the 1850s. The house will be a flurry of activities as you observe them perform such duties as air drying meat, preserving, pickling, baking and so much more.
My favourite, of course, is the DOGtoberfest. Yes, that is right, you can enjoy the Oktoberfest festivities with your dog in the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society's (KWHS) Leash Free park. It is the 5th annual DOGtoberfest, and you are invited to visit the Hounds House Café on Saturday October 17, 2009, and see how to celebrate this Bavarian Festival canine style! Enjoy a pet friendly event with your favourite pup and help the animals at the same time, as all proceeds go toward the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society.
Here are some tips on how to have you own Oktoberfest at home:
Set up your Barbecue ... you don't have one? Check out these cool stainless steel outdoor grills by Napoleon® Grills (they are most likely on special at your local home improvement store) and be the envy of your street!
Grilling sausages are a must. I suggest you pick up some European style sausages from Pillars, makers of award winning European style sausages and delicatessen meats since 1957. Piller’s Sausages and Delicatessens Limited started in Waterloo as a small, humble butcher shop and has grown to one of North America’s largest producers of such award-winning products as Black Forest ham and air-dried salamis. And don't forget the barbecue sauce! Try these savoury barbecue sauces from Everything Maple and start your own unique Oktoberfest traditions — Canadian Style.
Both the Maple Barbecue Sauce and, for those wanting that extra punch, the Yikes! Maple Barbecue Sauce with a Kick! are medium heat barbecue sauces made from 40% pure maple syrup to give you that tangy sweet taste everyone loves.
Now what is Oktoberfest without beer? It is the festival of beer after all! You will need your own Steinkrug or more a Glaskrug such as these Crystal Beer Tankards (set of 6) from NovaScotian Crystal
these carefully crafted glasses will make your favourite Pilsner taste even better! Want to try a new beer for the festivities, why not check out one of the many micro breweries in your area. In Ontario, you can try the ever popular Creemore Springs Premium Lager, or better yet, try their new Creemore Springs Kellerbier, a limited edition beer available at select LCBO stores in Ontario.
Creemore Springs is one of the beers available at the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest, and their Kellerbier (Cellar Beer), is brewed in the same tradition as the fresh locally brewed German beers enjoyed by rural Germans, since the middle ages, straight from the Brewer's cellar. An aromatic beer said to have a wonderful hint of citrus.
We also wrote about local beers last August. You can read the post here: Bière!? Beer!?
Now you have your grill, sausage, beer ... of course, you need sauerkraut.
Some tips:
- Rinse off the excess vinegar
- Add a good amount of white wine, such as the 2007 Noble Blanc, by Rancourt Winery, until covered
- Add some spices, herbs, fried onions, apples
- Mix it all in a clay Schlemmertopf, heat it up for at least an hour
- Serve with Sausage and Beer
Guten Appetit! & ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit! (To All Good Cheer)
Source: Flickr Creative Commons Mango Escobar, Joe Stump, Erich Ferdinand, BuyCanadianFirst
