His legs hurt. His arthritis is acting up. But 91-year-old Walter Ostanek mustered up the strength to come back to Oktoberfest in Kitchener, one last time.
He is an entertainer to the end.
He is “Canada’s Polka King.”
After playing the festival for decades, he wanted 2025 to be his final appearance, but he gave in to requests and agreed to return this year for a send-off befitting his stature within not just Oktoberfest, but the Canadian music world. “You gotta have a dream,” he told the Star in an interview backstage. “The dream is, I wanted to be a polka star. I love polka music. And that’s how you get things, is by giving.”
During the opening ceremonies at Willkommen Platz on Friday, Ostanek was anointed an honorary lifetime member of the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest, an annual festival celebrating all things Bavarian, from beer and schnitzel to traditional music. Ostanek kicked off the festival by participating in the beloved ritual of tapping the keg.
“WAL-ter! WAL-ter! WAL-ter!” the crowd cheered as he ascended the stage. An announcer touted his many achievements, including releasing more than 50 albums. “106 albums!” Ostanek piped up from his seat on the stage.
He’s also received many Grammy nominations, the announcer said. “21 nominations!” Ostanek crowed. He won three. (He likes to mention that the last time he went to the Grammys, he got a photo with both Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.)
Ostanek also was appointed to the Order of Canada, has received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame and a SOCAN Lifetime Achievement Award, and has appeared on many TV shows, including “The Phil Donahue Show” alongside legendary bandleader Lawrence Welk. He even played for Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show.”
He started his first band in 1957 and has been playing the accordion ever since, even inspiring the Schmenge Brothers sketches on “SCTV.” Many Ontarians have grown up with Ostanek. Festival attendee Kevin LaFlamme said he has been watching Ostanek play since 1967. “He’s a constant,” said LaFlamme, who is sad that Ostanek’s long-running Oktoberfest appearances are coming to an end. “It’s not just music,” he said. “It’s an event.”
Wendy Relf, sporting a feathered “Kiss me, I’m German!” cap, remembers going to Kitchener’s Queensmount Arena as a kid, watching Ostanek play fun German music, and dancing with her parents. (He performed there for 42 years, he said.) She has brought her own kids to Oktoberfest over the years. Another woman beside her shot numerous photos and videos of Ostanek performing, then texted them to someone with the message “91 years young.”
Backstage, Ostanek told the Star he now uses a cane and a walker and needs help carrying his accordion. “I’m 91 years old. From the middle up, I’m still pretty sharp,” he said. “But I’m hurting and I just can’t do it no more. It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just I can’t. You gotta know, as they say, where to fold them and where to hold them — that’s it, you know.”
Despite his chronic pain and health challenges, Ostanek is still remarkably jolly, joking onstage that the pacemaker he had implanted after multiple bypasses helped him keep time.
“This is my last hurrah this weekend, even if I don’t want to (stop performing),” he said. “But even at 91, I’ll make you happy a little bit.” Several people in the crowd shouted, “We love you!” as Ostanek launched into treasured tunes like “The Happy Wanderer” and “Wooden Heart.” He was down a bassist, he said; he usually asks his son to play, but his son himself just retired and took off on a long vacation. Accompanied by just a guitarist and drummer, Ostanek still had complete control of the set, barking out the chord changes: “B! C! G! G! One more time!”
Ostanek has always thought of polka as happy music. “There’s a lot of sadness all over the place, but I was told by Frankie Yankovic, America’s polka king, to smile because you might have problems, but people don’t wanna know your problems,” he said. “They’re there to forget theirs, so you’ve got to try and make them happy. And that’s why I smile.”
