Oktoberfest: JUNE 2023 Update

Beau’s Oktoberfest has been our brewery’s signature annual fundraiser for more than a decade, and an awesome celebration of community-building and craft beer. It has brought happiness and fun for hundreds of thousands of people over the years. It had impromptu cup-stacking contests, field camping, a lot of banana costumes, little green hats, and a mashed-up punk-rock/artist/foodie culture that was totally over the place, yet somehow still cohesively “Beau’s”.

Beau’s Oktoberfest was made possible by a very lucky set of circumstances in a specific moment in time. But in 2018 things took an unfortunate turn, and the luck ran out: the festival was shut down by late-summer tornado storms. To do the right thing, 2018 tickets were honoured free of charge in 2019, which was difficult but important to us. And we all know what 2020 brought – three years of masks, social distancing, and no fun at all.

Trying to re-envision the festival in a post-pandemic landscape was essentially starting from scratch, but since we promised, we tried. As the parts fell into place, we learned that to put on the fest in its former glory circa 2023, a single-day ticket would be close to $100 just for the privilege of walking through the gates, even before shelling out for pretzels, steins, and beer. When so many are struggling with inflation and food insecurity, that’s way out of step with today’s reality.

Is Beau’s still committed to finding new ways of creating greater good in the communities that support us? You’d better believe it – you can see it in action with our support of charitable events all year long, and our own “give a damn” initiatives. Will there be another giant Beau’s Oktoberfest up at the Vankleek Hill Hill Fairgrounds? We’ll never say never, but we will say not for now. We do plan to celebrate Oktoberfest at the Taproom this year in great style, but it won’t be the grand plans we had in mind.

Beau’s Oktoberfest raised more than a million dollars for charity and community. It funded the purchase of diagnostic equipment at our local hospital that continues to improve lives in our community of our every day. In short, it has a positive-impact legacy far bigger than the footprint of the Fairgrounds, our brewery, or even Vankleek Hill. So instead of crying in our beer for the days that are past, let’s raise a glass to good times and great memories. Cheers!

Jen Beauchesne, Senior Brand Manager, Beau’s Brewing Co.

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