Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to extend an invitation to all Canadians to visit my community of Kitchener to celebrate Oktoberfest. This is North America's largest Bavarian festival and it celebrates Kitchener's German heritage.
People can come and polka the night away at one of the city's festhallen , join in the spirit of gemütlichkeit at the Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day parade, and enjoy numerous cultural events. We are especially proud this year to host a Canadian great, Stompin' Tom Connors, as part of this year's festival.
The past 35 years have seen Oktoberfest host thousands of visitors from around the world. This year over 700,000 people will enjoy the festival and $18 million will be injected into our community.
It is a demonstration of Canadian hospitality of which Kitchener is very proud. I invite all hon. members to join me as we tap the keg and welcome everyone to this great Canadian festival. Ein Prosit .