THUNDER BAY – Neither periodic rain nor pandemic restrictions could dampen spirits at the BrewHa! Craft Beer Festival held over the weekend.
The event brought hundreds to the north core Friday and Saturday for a festival boasting local and visiting brewers, food, and live music, closing a block of Cumberland Street north of Red River Road.
For many attendees, who had to either show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test, the event marked the first time attending a significant event or hearing live music since the pandemic began.
That helped keep the smiles coming despite periodic rain and slightly chilly temperatures, said Kerry Berlinquette of Dawson Trail Brewery, a BrewHa! stalwart since the festival’s launch in 2015.
“It’s been a really tough year and a half for everybody – just emotionally, economically, the whole works,” she said. “So to be able to see people out just having a drink, talking to their friends, and enjoying Thunder Bay again is just heartwarming.”
Will Vander Ploeg, a regional sales representative with Kenora-based Lake of the Woods Brewing Company, echoed that sentiment after a summer that featured few events.
“It’s great to see,” he said. “Obviously we’re still at limited capacity, but just being able to be out and see people get back together… it’s really rewarding.”
BrewHa! organizer Sara Sadeghi Aval Hosting hoped hosting the festival downtown would help boost traffic to restaurants and bars in the area, several of which joined in its “tap takeover.”
Still, she said the event is likely to return to its usual home at Marina Park next year.
“With COVID regulations, this was a much more intimate space – we could control traffic [and] how many people were here,” she said. “It would have been great to have more, but for this year, I think it was a huge success.”
Seven breweries participated this year, Sadeghi Aval said, including local newcomers Lakehead Beer Company, which poured some of its first glasses at the event.
The event’s three 250-person sessions quickly sold out in advance. A portion of proceeds go to support the Canadian Mental Health Association.
