In 1967, communities across Canada celebrated their Centennial Anniversary with a variety of festivals. The federal government provided funding for these events, including Expo’67 in Montreal. Kitchener-Waterloo was no different in its quest to hold a public event that would increase tourism to the area. Starting in 1967, the community tried a total of three different events as it looked for a more permeant festival. Between the years 1967–1969, the region tested events such as a Heritage Festival, Winterfest and Oktoberfest. The success of each event was monitored and evaluated as they decided what festival would be used going forward. Due to unstable weather patterns, people planning Winterfest found this event to be unreliable and it was quickly removed from the list. The Heritage Festival was removed from the list as too many communities had this event, the region was looking for an event that made them stand out.