December 31st another night to remember check out what they had to say . . .
The Fergus 175 First Night celebrations included New Year’s Eve activities for children and families, places to get out of the cold, and a large dose of great music for all ages
– plus two New Year’s countdowns through the evening.
“It was great great fun,” said Fergus 175 organizing committee chair Mary Lloyd. “To have a free event in downtown Fergus — it was a tremendous success.”
The night’s events help “set the stage” for the Fergus 175 celebrations and activities planned for the coming months, Lloyd said. “Now people will be looking for more things
to come, which is good … It will be a good memory to kick off the year.”
Organizers estimate about 2,500 people took in some part of the evening’s fun, which got under way at 7 p.m. with a variety of activities for children and families. “The turnout
was just tremendous everywhere,” Lloyd said.
Entertainer Sandy MacDonald got the music underway at 7 p.m. on the street-wide stage, with favourites for young and old — getting kids involved in a singalong of “Old
McDonald’s Farm” and “The Unicorn Song” plus upbeat hits like the Barenaked Ladies’ “If I Had a Million Dollars.”
Michael Tyndale-Biscoe followed with ballads, and then Centre Wellington District High School Idol winner Samantha Dirksen entertained with a couple of selections, before
country rockers Moonshine took the stage for a set leading up to the 9 p.m. New Year’s countdown.
Getting a group of children involved in that, event host Gary Bryant conducted a “first footing” ceremony — something still practiced in Scotland before Hogmanay, the Scottish
New Year.
According to tradition, Bryant told the crowd of onlookers, the first person across the threshold after midnight should be a tall, dark-haired male. This not only bodes well for
the New Year, but the gifts that he carries symbolize good fortune — wood or coal for the fire, yarn, a coin or two, food and drink.
With a “tall and dark” child handing over a tray of symbolic gifts to the “lady of the house”, the event led to a quick countdown to 2008 and fireworks by the Weinstein Group
shooting over the stage.
“That was a very nice, pleasant surprise for me,” she said. Moonshine’s second set followed. “From quarter to 11 to midnight people just kept walking down,” Lloyd said. A
late snowfall added to the atmosphere. “It was very pretty with the snow coming down and the fireworks going off.”
Organizers estimate between 800 and 1,000 people stayed in the street to ring in the New Year officially at midnight — led by Centre Wellington mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj.
News
PAGE


The Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day Parade, which featured 30 colourful floats,  clowns and 14 award-winning   
marching bands, was broadcast nationally on CTV at noon to an estimated audience of 1.3 million viewers.

For the first time ever, parade spectators were able to vote via text messaging for the People’s Choice Float! Twenty-five
floats competed for the inaugural honour, with the most votes going to the Moonshine Band, sponsored by the UpTown
Waterloo Business Improvement Area.

“The latest edition of the Parade has once again shown everyone why Kitchener-Waterloo
Oktoberfest is Canada’s Greatest Bavarian Festival. Every year the Parade gets better and this
year it set a new standard,” said Larry Blundell, Executive Director.

The 2011 Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day Parade celebrity Judges have revealed their top picks for the best floats in
the 2011 Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The floats that have been selected, by the judges, to receive honours this year are:

Festival Award (1st Place) – The Old Lady in Her Shoe (Sponsored by: Polyurethane Foam Systems)
Harvest Award (2nd Place) – Mobile Maypole
Sponsors’ Award (3rd Place) – Rolling Steins Float (Sponsored by: Greater K-W Chamber of Commerce)
Twin Cities Award (Best Spirit/Enthusiasm) – Moonshine Band (Sponsored by: UpTown Waterloo BIA)
Hans & Frieda Award (Use of Animation) – Schneider Foods Float (Sponsored by: Maple Leaf Foods)
Miss Oktoberfest Award (Best Visual) – Lion Inflatable (Sponsored by: Lions Club of Kitchener)
Wunderbar Award (Community Involvement) – Toy Float (Sponsored by the German Canadian Remembrance Society and built by the
Carpenters Union)

The 2011 celebrity Judges for the parade were: Ron Asselstine, Paul Constable, Gary Doyle, and Chris Mei.