Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stops by K-W Oktoberfest opening

K-W Oktoberfest kicks off The big Bavarian festival begins. CTV’s Ashley Bacon checks out the opening ceremony on Gaukel Street.

The 55th Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest is officially underway.

Assisted by Virgin Radio’s Laura Geddes, festival president Allan Cayenne tapped the Oktoberfest Keg Friday on stage at Willkomen Platz – kicking off a week of events for the 2023 edition of the big Bavarian festival.

"I've been talking to people already that are here from Norway, Las Vegas, California – all over the world,” Cayenne told CTV News. “We've had people from Germany, so we really do draw people to this region.”

Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped by the festivities Friday, shaking hands and posing for selfies.

Cayenne said the event pulls in crowds from across the globe and it’s a huge boost to the local economy.

“That's something we really pride ourselves on because we're a community festival and we really want to make sure our community is benefitting from everything that we do. We see that year in and year out and it's just so awesome to see."

This year Willkomen Platz has been moved from in front of Kitchener City Hall to Gaukel Street. The pop-up Bavarian village will host a craft biergarten, food, vendors and live music throughout the weekend.

In addition, events are being held all week in downtown Kitchener and in Festhallen throughout the region.