Antigonish Craft Beer Festival 2019

Gathering of Atlantic brewers

Craft beer fans in Antigonish have something exciting to celebrate! Three local organizations – CACL Antigonish, Legion (Branch 59), and Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre – are collaborating in a unique partnership to co-host the inaugural Antigonish Craft Beer Festival on Saturday, March 30, 2019. This event, taking place at the recently opened Credit Union Social Enterprise Centre (75 St. Ninian St, Antigonish), will feature 12 top-notch craft breweries from across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Attendees will have a chance to sample their products, enjoy live entertainment, and take home a souvenir glass. The event will showcase the best of our region, celebrate the thriving local craft beer industry, and highlight our spirit of innovation. 

Confirmed brewers to date include:

The Townhouse - Antigonish

Half Cocked - Antigonish

Propeller Brewing - Halifax

9 Zero 2 - Antigonish

Big Spruce - Nyanza

Meander River - Newport

Maybee - Fredericton

Garrison Brewing - Halifax

Sober Island - Sheet Harbour

Upstreet - Dartmouth

Tatamagouche Brewing Co. – Tatamagouche

Off Track Brewing - Dartmouth

Tickets to the event are on sale now. Tickets are $40, with a special early bird price of $35 (available for a limited time only). VIP tickets are also available for $55, which include exclusive access to the event during the VIP hour and a selection of complimentary finger foods.

Tickets are available online at tickets.festivalantigonish.com,  or in-person at the CACL Cafe or the Legion lounge (75 St. Ninian Street, Antigonish).

The evening will begin with a VIP Hour at 6 p.m. General admission runs from 7:00 to 10:30 pm. Admission includes a souvenir beer glass and eight sample drinks from any vendors. Hot and cold food items, and additional drink tickets will also be available for purchase on site. Designated Driver tickets are also available for $10.

Organizers say this will be a premium, first-of-its-kind experience for the residents of Antigonish and surrounding areas and will draw media attention as well as business investments to the region. It will support local entrepreneurs, bolster Antigonish’s tourism and destination marketing, and provide a unique event with mass appeal across various demographics. They expect the event to sell out early so advance tickets are recommended.

All three hosting partners are well-respected non-profit organizations with deep roots in the local community and a strong national presence for their innovative work in social and cultural growth. Proceeds from the event will support these organizations in  furthering their work within the community.

Photo: Festival Antigonish

Local Love

Support local businesses

Have you ever had a cherished store in your own home- town shut down? If so, you know the feeling of having to hear the heartbreaking news of your absolute favourite local store close its doors forever.

This is becoming more and more common in our society; locally owned businesses that used to flourish with customers are now at a point where they do not have enough customers to generate the type of revenue they would need to keep their lights on. I’m encouraging you to start or continue supporting the local businesses within your own town. 

When you choose to spend your money at a local business whether a restaurant, art gallery, coffee shop, or grocery store, you’re supporting the business and the individuals that help run it. 

Take places in Antigonish such as the Townhouse, The Waffle Bus and the Tall and Small Café, all three of these businesses sell delicious food. The ingredients for these dishes are coming from farms in the surrounding area, fresh vegetables from Bethany Gardens, farmed chicken from Loch Abar Farmers or fish from fisherman living in the area.

The point is, these farmers and fisherman also making a living off be able to a sell their products to these businesses, but they’re only able to keep doing that just as long as the doors of the business keep ringing.

You might think yes that’s all wonderful, but I don’t have the money for locally priced foods and that’s a fair point. When you eat local it tends to be a bit pricier than say something like McDonald’s (which might I add is corporately owned, and has mass produced food which is not only bad for the environment but also bad for you, I digress) but trust me it’s really worth it. It might seem like a pain paying that little extra, but in the long run you’re helping out more people than you can imagine.

Investing your money into these businesses means keeping a community alive, a community that you might very well depend on for your own job, family, or school. When local business die, there are jobs lost, and people will have to migrate out of the town to find other jobs, soon it’ll become a ghost town.

When you purchase local, you’re also able to get to know the people who own the business, who by the way really appreciate you and they want to get to know you. You end up building connections and relationships that you otherwise might not have had. It’s pretty hard to build a connection with a huge company that only cares about getting your money and not getting to know you.

I hope my words to you have made you change your mind a little bit. Next time  you’re feeling hungry or wanting to pick up some new groovy home décor, consider supporting a business ran by your neighbor.

In my closing words, I’d like to give my farewell to Fixed Coffee & Baking. As a Newfoundlander I was stunned to hear the news like the rest of St. John’s last Wednesday that Fixed will be closing their doors permanently on March 10. I’ll miss your delicious coffee, food, laughs and warmth, and your sparkling drinks in the sweet muggy summers. Yet another business falling victim to the lack of local support.