Summer Beer Fest prevails despite rain

Alycia Douglass

CORNWALL, Ontario – There’s nothing quite like a cold brew among friends to bring people together.

Factor in 16 craft breweries, some great live music, and a few thousand people; and you’ve got all the makings of an epic evening.

Held in the heart of downtown Cornwall, over 2500 beer enthusiasts raised a glass in Lamoureux Park at Cornwall’s eagerly awaited Summer Beer Fest this Saturday, June 24.

After months of blood, sweat, and tears, Seaway Food Festival Director, Sebastien ‘Mani’ Manigat says that seeing the fruits of his labour has been extremely rewarding.

“I feel very humbled by not only how many people showed up, but just the amount of work that the breweries put in,” said Manigat. “This was much more than just a beer festival – this was a big day for the community.”

Manigat says that in addition to his stellar team, an event of this scale would not be possible without the help of some wonderful local partners.

“The shoutout goes to Lorne Taillon, the City of Cornwall, and the entire Parks team,” said Manigat. “We couldn’t have pulled this off without them.”

Taking place between 11 am and 11 pm, guests were able to grab a bite at Foodies Corners, check out some hand-made and home-grown treasures in the East End Market, and of course, catch Classified at the Bandshell.

With Selekta Shellz delivering the good vibes as the host of the event, Melanie Brûlée and Fredy V kicked off the entertainment roster before Classified took the stage. Bringing some throwback hip hop energy to Lamoureux Park, Classified had everyone singing along as he served up some tasty East Coast flavour.

Manigat says he was finally able to take it all in towards the end of the night.

“When you put something like this on, there’s so many moving parts. You want to make sure people are enjoying themselves,” said Manigat. “The concert – that’s when I got to take a break and just watch people have fun.”

With the rain coming and going throughout the day, Beerfest organizer, Justin Towndale said it didn’t discourage people from making the most of the event.

“People started embracing it and dancing in the rain,” said Towndale. “They didn’t let the weather dampen their spirits at all.”

Though Cornwall’s Summer Beer Fest has come and gone until next year, Manigat says that folks needn’t fret.

“When we started Seaway Food Festival, it was really about connecting the community,” said Manigat. “But I think now we really want to build an events company, we want to bring top talent to Cornwall, we want to continue to deliver those experiences.”

 

 

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