Oktoberfest royalty
Miss Oktoberfest Mikaila Emrich waves to the parade crowd Monday. More photos, story
KITCHENER — It started a few minutes late under dark skies that threatened rain, but ended in sunshine almost as bright as the smiles from thousands of kids — big and small — who filled the sidewalks along Weber Street for the K-W Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Phil Schmaus, his wife and three boys sat in folding chairs right at the corner at Frederick and Weber streets. It is a family tradition that started when Schmaus was three years old.
“My dad took me when I was little, me and my sisters, so I take my three boys,” said Schmaus of Kitchener. His boys are two, eight and 10. “Unless it is really cold or really raining, I try to come ever year,” said Schmaus. “It’s a good time.”
Schmaus and his dad used to stand on King Street West near Union Street to watch the annual parade. This year the parade was along Weber Street.
“I am a creature of habit. I used to park at the SunLife. Can’t take them to my spot as a child, so I am little sad about that, but they are enjoying it,” said Schmaus.
One of his boys sported a Spiderman hoody, and Schmaus would like to see floats with super heroes. That would definitely appeal to the kids, he said.
Derek Scoular, another Kitchener native, calls the parade a family tradition. He and three friends gathered near the start of the route.
“We all groan and moan and roll out of bed at 7:30 a.m. and then it is fun,” said Scoular as he sips a coffee spiked with Bailey’s Irish Cream.
Scoular started coming to the parade as a teenager, and used to enjoy the free breakfast in downtown Waterloo where it used to end. In recent years, Scoular heads for a beer tent after the parade to continue to the cele-
brations.
The parade route this year ran all along Weber, from Frederick Street in Kitchener to Bridgeport Road in Waterloo.
Kitchener-born Anya Steffler started coming to the parade when she was small.
“It is my mom’s tradition, I come for my mother,” said Steffler. “I like the sense of community, everybody getting out of bed too early on a busy weekend, making time to see a spectacle. It’s a thing.”
Her boyfriend Jordan Tessier is from Niagara Falls. He’s lived in Kitchener for three years.
“I come for my girlfriend because she comes for her mom, but it’s fun,” said Tessier. “I like to see the different drum lines and the Horn of Plenty. I like to see how excited they get when the floats go by. They are just all smiles.”
It started with nine police officers on motorcycles — flashing lights and blasting sirens. It ended with the cornucopia float. In between was a colourful and musical celebration featuring marching bands from Vaughn, Burlington, Toronto, several from this region and two from the U.S. — a New Orleansstyle street band called Prime Time Brass, and drum outfit called Downbeat Percussion out of upstate New York.