Nottawa Hall hosts Arts and Craft Beer Fest

Nottawa Hall is inviting people to sample the best in local brews at the Arts and Craft Beer Festival.

Hall board member and organizer Jason Whyte said hall volunteers were sitting around having a beer after last year’s Small Halls Festival and they were talking about how a lot of halls host arts and craft shows when the idea of showcasing craft beers bubbled to the surface.

Five local breweries have confirmed they will participate in the Jan. 21 event; Side Launch Brewing Company, Black Bellows Brewing Company, Thornbury Village Craft Brewery, Wasaga Beach Brewing Company and Creemore Springs Brewery will be there and others have been invited.

“You can talk to the brewers and they’ll tell you how they make the beer and what they put into it and what you can pair it with,” said Whyte.

He said there are many breweries in the area that are making high quality craft beer.

“We’d love to see everyone come out and talk beer,” said Whyte.

He said it is no coincidence that the event is the day after the presidential inauguration.

“We figured people would need a beer after that,” he said, laughing. Also, there aren’t a lot of beer festivals in the winter but there are a lot of visitors in the area at this time, said Whyte.

Festival admission costs $20 and includes a 4.5-ounce stein and five tickets to sample beer. Additional tickets cost $2 each. Food will also be available.

The soundtrack for the event will be provided by local musicians. Hall volunteer and entertainer Laurie Zwarych has put together a line-up including herself, duo Gary Pattenden and Steve Payment, John Haines, Lz & the Pickups and David Stone.

Proceeds from the event will go into the hall’s general reserves for future accessibility renovations to the hall. If all goes well, organizers hope this won’t be the last craft beer festival at the hall.

The event runs from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21.

Tickets are available at the door. Nottawa Hall (aka Nottawa Memorial Community Centre) is located at 4129 County Road 124 in Nottawa.