Lloydminster German Heritage Society Members, led by Richard Starke, march up to the stage, beer in hand, to kick off the evening with the opening ceremony. Jeannette Benoit-Leipert Meridian Source
German food, beer and dancing were abundant as Lloydminster celebrated Oktoberfest.
The event began with cocktails and dinner, followed by the musical stylings of the Prairie Dogs, and entertainment courtesy of the Concordia Alpenrose Dancers out of Saskatoon. It was hosted by the Lloydminster German Heritage Society (LGHS) at the WLS Convention Centre.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we do have an opening ceremony. My goodness, you can’t do anything in Germany without an opening ceremony—that and a whole pile of paperwork,” joked emcee Richard Starke.
The opening ceremony began with the singing of the German national anthem Deutschlandlied, followed by O’Canada.
“I’ve been involved since the inception. It started in 1991 and we had our first Oktoberfest in 1992,” said Oktoberfest organizer Chris Armstrong.
“My mom and dad are both from Germany. My mom is here tonight, we took some fourth-generation pictures because our son is here with his family and the girls.”
Armstrong said although her last name doesn’t sound German, she wants to stay in touch with her German roots, and being part of the LGHS is a good way to do that.
“My parents are from there, so we want to kind of keep that heritage alive.”
Armstrong said people look forward to Oktoberfest for many reasons.
“A lot of people like the food, they like the beer, everyone has their thing.”
A big part of Oktoberfest is the food, and of course, an important staple is German sausage. The recipe was given to the LGHS by a founding member who passed away.
“Diamond 7 has the recipe now and they make it in honour of him. Hans Strunk was his name.”
