For the fifth consecutive year, downtown Prince George will play host to the fifth annual Kiwanis AleFest Craft Festival weekend.
The three part festival weekend – January 25-26, 2019 – will once again feature the Kiwanis AleFest tasting sessions, Brewmaster’s Dinners, and the Cask Beer Experience.
“When our organizing committee first met back in 2013 to plan the first-ever Kiwanis AleFest; we had big goals and aspirations of what this craft beer community fundraiser could be,” said Amy Dhanjal, Kiwanis AleFest Lead for Venue and Logistics. “Looking at the event now, we are beyond pleased with how it has grown into a premier fundraising and social activity in January each year.”
Returning again in January 2019 for this year’s instalment of the craft festival weekend, includes:
- Three tasting sessions to choose from at the Two Rivers Gallery
- Two brewmaster’s dinners to choose from at the Ramada Plaza and Coast Inn of the North
- Cask Beer Experience – craft beer and food tour, an un-ticketed auxiliary event at various downtown Prince George establishments
Tickets for this years 2019 event go on sale Saturday, November 3 at 8 a.m., exclusively through the Kiwanis AleFest website at www.kiwanisalefest.ca. Tickets for the Two Rivers Gallery tasting sessions include 6 craft beer tasting tokens, free tapas, music, a great silent auction and 50/50, and access to the art in the Rustad Galleria and Canfor Galleries. Tickets for the Brewmaster’s Dinner portion of the weekend festivities include a full four-course meal infused and also paired with small-batch craft beers from around British Columbia. This interactive dining experience sets guests face-to-face with the brewers that create delicious BC craft beer – making for an unforgettable dining experience.
One of the most popular parts of the weekend is the un-ticketed auxiliary event held at various downtown Prince George establishments – the Cask Beer Experience
“We added this free part of the weekend a couple years ago, and it has been so well received by all participants,” said Jamie Cunningham, the lead for budget and silent auctions for Kiwanis AleFest. “There are so many great downtown establishments that our organizing team loves to frequent; and part of this weekend is to encourage more people to come downtown and share in the fun of amazing food and drinks.”
The Cask Beer Experience is a food and beer tour where people can taste some limited quantity specially prepared cask-conditioned ales, which the breweries have prepared specially for the Kiwanis AleFest weekend only. Participants even have a chance to win a Kiwanis AleFest prize package which includes tickets to the 2020 event, just for taking part in the Cask Beer Experience component of the weekend.
In 2018, the event raised $50,000 in support for the Ronald McDonald House of British Columbia, and other Kiwanis legacy projects for kids and families in Prince George. Organizations that were able to benefit from local grants included the Child Development Centre of Prince George and District, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Prince George, the Prince George Public Library, the Two Rivers Gallery, Theatre Northwest, KidSport, and the Huble Homestead Historic Site.
For more information on Kiwanis AleFest, Kiwanis Cask Beer Weekend, or the Kiwanis AleFest Brewmaster’s Dinners, follow along on the Kiwanis AleFest Faceook page, or visit the website at www.kiwanisalefest.ca.
Kiwanis (meaning “we trade” or “we share our talents”) is a non-profit volunteer community service organization with a long history since its founding by business professionals in Prince George in 1954. Kiwanis Prince George is part of a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. Kiwanis is one of the “big three” global community service organizations (others being Rotary and Lions), and now has nearly 600,000 members worldwide. With their recent growth and resurgence, Kiwanis Prince George has almost 40 working and retired business professionals that meet regularly for lunch meetings, social events and to take on community projects. www.facebook.com/kiwanisprincegeorge
