Despite a valiant efforts of many people to bring US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres to Kitchener/Waterloo to serve as Grand Marshall of the Oktoberfest parade, it was announced today that she would not be attending. Her talk show is in production at that time and she is unable to come to the area on that day. Organizers are still hoping that she will mention the campaign on her show.
Even with the disappointment which will be felt by a lot of people, the drive to get Ellen to Kitchener/Waterloo brought a lot of attention to Oktoberfest. It brought many in the community together in celebration with events such as a
mass chicken dance in front of city hall.