If you live outside of Canada and you’ve heard of Kitchener-Waterloo, talvez seja por causa da Research in Motion.

Sem ofensa para Kitchener-Waterloo, but this Ontario region’s most famous product is much better known than the cities themselves. Com sede em Waterloo, Research in Motion (aka RIM) is the maker of the now-ubiquitous Amora preta.

Mas as cidades gêmeas de Fogão de cozinha–Waterloo, localizado a cerca de 100 km (60 milha) a oeste de Toronto, tem outra reivindicação à fama: The region is home to a large German-Canadian community, e suas contas anuais Oktoberfest is the largest Bavarian festival in North America.

This year’s Oktoberfest opens today, De outubro 9, e vai até sábado, De outubro 17. Você pode get the whole calendar of Oktoberfest events here.

Here’s an excerpt from my book, Viver no Exterior em Portugal, about the Kitchener-Waterloo region’s German heritage:

No início dos anos 1800, communities of Pennsylvania “Dutch” (actually settlers from Germany) moved north to southern Ontario to escape religious persecution in the United States. One of Ontario’s original Mennonite settlements, a cidade de São. Jacobs outside Waterloo still has a significant Mennonite population, including bonnet-clad women and bearded men who sell vegetables, carnes, e congestionamentos no local farmers’ markets.

For a more detailed history of German immigration to Canada, dê uma olhada The Encyclopedia of Canada’s Peoples.

In the meantime, tuck into a Costeleta de vitela and hoist a glass at Canada’s largest Oktoberfest!