Major turnout, including ambassador, for Oktoberfest Lunch in Cambridge

CTV’s Colton Wiens explains why Cambridge started Oktoberfest one week late, plus the city’s plan to bring more events to the community.

A distinguished guest was on hand as the City of Cambridge handed out more than 1,300 free sausages to keep the Oktoberfest fun going.

On Wednesday, the city held its annual Oktoberfest Lunch featuring a visit from the German ambassador to Canada.

The organizers believe they had one of the largest turnouts in years.

“I just love the spirit here,” Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett said. “The way the people have embraced this, and it grows every year. People are looking for a very happy time. It’s not like a festhall atmosphere – this is all about people meeting the neighbours or somebody they’ve seen at the grocery store and maybe have never spoken to. They get to say, “Oh, I see we shop at the same place.’ It’s starting new conversations.”

The demand was so great, the city eventually ran out of sausages and buns.

“We come every year,” Marlene Davis, a Kitchener resident, said. “[We like] the whole atmosphere because it’s not a big tent with all kinds of noise and everything. It’s just a nice, fun day.”

For people living in Cambridge, the lunch offers a taste of the festivities closer to home.

“I’m a retired musician and it’s still in my blood. The music, the German music. Beer drinking music,” Mike Kuntz, a Cambridge resident said.

In past years, the event has kicked off festivities in the Region of Waterloo, but this year, the city delayed the event for a week so the German ambassador to Canada could attend.

“I’m very happy to see that all of these lovely sausages, and I tried one, are given out for free to the population to really build a bridge between the Oktoberfest and the people of Cambridge,” Matthias Lüttenberg, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Canada said. “I think that’s a lovely initiative and a great idea. And of course, I’m also looking forward to having a glass of beer or two later on in the day.”

Lüttenberg was invited by Cambridge MP Connie Cody, who wanted to show him the Oktoberfest spirit in the community.

“It’s great, because we have a lot of heritage here that is German background, Scottish background, and there’s a lot of things that we have in common. We have a lot of businesses here that do dealings with Germany. Keeping these traditions alive is very important,” Cody said.

“To me, the most important is the overall atmosphere. The people are happy to be here. It’s not only about the alcohol, but it’s also about the music that we listen to in the background that gives a special taste. It’s also the costumes,” Lüttenberg said. “But this gives a special feeling. It’s not only typical for Germany, it’s something we find in Austria and sometimes in Switzerland. And many people of these countries are also part of the German speaking heritage here in Ontario.”

Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest organizers said there are also plans in the works to grow the number of events and the size of the events in Cambridge.

“Every year, we’re going to grow this and get this bigger. This is fantastic, and I want to spend a lot more time in Cambridge,” Ched D, President of the K-W Oktoberfest Board of Directors, said.

“They would like to expand and have a big festhall here, like we did many, many years ago. But they want to expand it next year, so we’re open to that. We’ll see where that goes,” Liggett said.

Lüttenberg also said he’s open to coming back to Cambridge or visiting Kitchener or Waterloo next year.

“I think there’s a lot to discover down here,” Lüttenberg said.