CHAPTER 8 - Miss Oktoberfest Pageant and Miss Oktoberfest Gala Ball The Pageant was initiated in 1969, with the German Clubs’ festival, on a local basis; the winner of the Miss Oktoberfest Pageant then went on to compete in the Miss Canada Pageant. In 1971, Miss Oktoberfest Donna Sawicky, won the Miss Canada title.
Jack Petersen, Past President, organized the Pageant for 30 years, initially with co-producer Jack Bishop In 1971, the Pageant was expanded to a North American eligibility basis and a great number of Canadian and American entrees were received; which, like the controversial “beer” poster, gave Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest more international publicity every year. 2003 marked the year that the Miss Oktoberfest Pageant added a Black Tie Ball, on a geographically reduced basis with the contestants chosen from an 80 km radius only, due to costs of past pageants for such things as flights and hotels. 40 years of Miss Oktoberfest Queens in chronological order:
Christine Orendi 1969, LesleyWhite 1970, Donna Sawicky 1971, Kim Jeffries 1972
Summer Bartholomew 1973 , Gayle Gorrell 1974, Jan Nillson 1975, Mary Pat Hannon 1976