Honourable senators, I rise to salute the celebration of Oktoberfest in my home region of Kitchener-Waterloo, running this year from September 27 to October 19. As the second-largest Bavarian-style festival on the planet, its origins are, of course, in Munich, Germany. It began in 1810 to celebrate a royal wedding, as well as the success of the harvest and, with it, the sampling of freshly brewed beer.

As many of you know, especially Senator Marty Deacon, who, like me, hails from the region, Kitchener-Waterloo’s Oktoberfest began in 1969 as an initiative of a few businesspeople. Supported by the four local German clubs — Concordia, Schwaben, Alpine and Transylvania — it has become a tourist draw for many thousands of visitors from North America and beyond.

I am a member of the Transylvania Club, not due to any vampiric leanings on my part but rather my own Transylvanian Saxon heritage.

The “Twin Cities” of Kitchener and Waterloo rightly continue to be proud of their German heritage, despite Kitchener changing its name from Berlin in 1916, following a plebiscite during, of course, World War I.

I have a special connection to Oktoberfest. As a member of the Transylvania Club’s dance group during my undergraduate years, I donned lederhosen and performed with my friends at the various Oktoberfest halls and tents. Enjoy that imagery for the duration of today’s session and beyond.

One year, wishing to have a bit more cash, I served as a member of the security team for one particularly raucous venue. I have had better ideas in my life. Being a bouncer was not my thing, as those here who have come to know me will no doubt attest, so I returned to my true calling, which, of course, is dancing.

Colleagues, Oktoberfest is not just beer, bratwurst and dancing. The festival, along with contributing to the local economy and driving tourism to the region, donates much to local charities.

Further, the Kitchener-Waterloo Thanksgiving Day Parade is the largest in Canada, boasting thousands of spectators annually.

While purists sometimes legitimately suggest that there is much more to German culture than a Bavarian beer festival, not all of it is as much fun.

Colleagues, as one of over 3.5 million Canadians with Germanic origins and whose first language learned was German, I am proud of the contributions that these citizens — from John Diefenbaker to Justin Bieber — have made to our society and country. Thank you.

[Editor’s Note: Senator Boehm spoke in German.]