Mobile Maypole top float at Oktoberfest parade

The Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest mobile Maypole float won the top festival award at this year's Oktoberfest Thanksgiving Day parade.

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The floats in Monday's parade were judged as they made their way through the streets of Kitchener and Waterloo.

Other winners were:

• Harvest Award (2nd Place) – Kitchener Blues Festival.
• Sponsors' Award (3rd Place) – German Club Princess Float.
• Twin Cities Award (Best Spirit/Enthusiasm) – War Amps of Canada.
• Hans & Frieda Award (Use of Animation) – Nelco Mechanical.
• Miss Oktoberfest Award (Best Visual) – City of Waterloo.
• Wunderbar Award (Community Involvement) – K-W Vietnamese Association Float.
• Piller's Gemüetlichkeit Float Award (Most Gemüetlichkeit) – Nelco Mechanical Float.
• People's Choice Float – Kitchener Blues Festival.

"Every year the parade gets better and this year it set a new standard," Dave MacNeil, K-W Oktoberfest's executive director, said in a release.

The annual parade also includes the Onkel Hans Food Drive. This year, More than 4,500 kilograms of non-perishable food and $11,410 in cash was collected along the parade route. Those who missed the parade but still want to donate can do so on The Food Bank of Waterloo Region's website.

The annual 5K Fun Run was held just before the parade. There were 500 participants. Taking the men's title was Tyson Augusto of Kitchener with a time of 18:37. Elaine Lavallee of Kitchener won the women's title with a time of 20:19.