October offers so much: crisp fall days, brilliant autumn colours, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes, Halloween thrills and chills.
And then there’s Oktoberfest.
The original two-week festival held in Munich was a celebration of German culture, with a focus on food, music, folk dancing, and beer. It’s an idea that has become popular around the world, initially wherever citizens of German heritage settled, but now wherever beer-lovers gather.
Holy Martyrs of Japan Catholic Church in Bradford held its Oktoberfest dinner on Saturday, serving up schnitzel, Oktoberfest sausage and other traditional German cuisine, and music by a local band, while raising money for the church’s youth ministry.
“It supports our Edge and Lifestream programs,” explained youth minister Ray Reitzel, while wearing an authentic hat from Germany, topped with feathers from the world’s second-largest Oktoberfest festival in Kitchener.
Asked how long the church has been holding its Oktoberfest, Reitzel noted he has been youth minister for the past 12 years, and “they were doing it a couple of years before that. ... I grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo. We’ve kept the tradition going.”
Up the road, the Royal Canadian Legion in Lefroy-Belle Ewart also hosted an Oktoberfest, with traditional cuisine, Oktoberfest hats and beer, celebrating what has become a worldwide tradition.
