ERIN – An event filled with local beer, food and entertainment is coming back to Erin on Sept. 22.
The Rotary Club of Erin will be hosting their Feast of Hops event with an added culinary challenge.
“It’s just a really fun afternoon,” Feast of Hops organizer Don Fysh told the Advertiser.
The event will be at the Erin Agricultural Society Building at 184 Main Street from 2 to 5pm.
The club wanted to create an afternoon where participants can join and discover the local restaurants and breweries in their community.
“The motto of our club is that we energize Erin so we were trying to engage local restaurants … we don’t have a local brewer but as local as possible,” added Fysh.
It’s an annual fundraising event which has been operating since 2015. The funds then go directly to community needs.
With the purchase of a $75 ticket those participating will receive six samples of craft beer and six samples of food all while being entertained by the Campfire Poets, an Orangeville-based band who cover music from the last 70 decades.
A change has been made this year by adding a cidery into the mix. Guests will now have the chance to enjoy five beer samples and one cider sample.
Although the samples won’t be a full-size pint glass Fysh assured “it’s enough to make you happy.”
Those who don’t enjoy beer but still want to support the club can opt for wine as their choice of beverage for the afternoon.
Feast of Hops is an age 19 plus event.
“We try to pair [food and drink] up … to match the style of beer with the type of food being offered,” Fysh said.
During the event a culinary challenge will be occurring between the participating restaurants.
Culinary challenge pairings:
– The Busholme public house and Elora Brewing Co.;
– FusionZ and GoodLot Farmstead Brewing Co.;
– Hatter Gastropub and A John Sleeman Sons Company;
– Jess For You Café and Heartwood Farm and Cidery;
The Upper Pub and Eatery and Grand Valley Brewery; and
– Wellington Country MarketPlace and Wellington Brewery.
Each ticket will include a Feast of Hops passport allowing guests to obtain a food and beverage serving from each of the six culinary challenger pairings.
The ticket stub doubles as a ballot to vote for the best food in the People’s Choice Culinary Challenge Award.
At the end of the afternoon the victorious culinary team will be announced and presented with a trophy during closing ceremonies.
“The people that have been love it, so we just have to encourage the people who haven’t been to come so that they can love it too,” Fysh said.
Changes
He explained due to the COVID-19 pandemic organizers had to go “a little further afield for the restaurants,” as some local businesses closed down or had trouble staffing after the pandemic.
Now the event has a brewery from Grand Valley, one from Guelph and a restaurant from Orangeville.
“That’s been the biggest change,” Fysh noted.
He spoke about the effort it has taken to rebuild the event’s attendance which has been impacted by the pandemic as well.
Fundraiser
With last year having raised over $8,000 Fysh is hopeful the upcoming event will match or exceed the previous amount.
“Last year we were supporting the East Wellington Community Services, they had to replace their bus that they used to transport their patients,” he said.
The club, due to the fundraiser, was able to donate $8,000 towards a new bus, stated Fysh.
The rotary club is active in several areas of the community but this fundraiser will be focusing on the youth in the Erin community and their needs.
Earlier this year the club sponsored a mental health and wellbeing fair for the Erin District High School.
The Minds Matter fair was catered to helping youth understand the resources available in their community.
The club plans to have another fair next year with the help of raised funds.
Other areas the club plans to support is the Erin high school rugby team and a peace scholarship at Conrad Grebel University.
Challenger
Owner of The Busholme, an Erin-based restaurant, Mike Magill will be attending the fundraiser in hopes of some good “friendly competition.”
Magill opened his restaurant in 2016 and has been participating in Feast of Hops ever since.
“We’re a pub with a bit of a flare,” Magill told the Advertiser.
Last year The Busholme and FusionZ tied the culinary challenge together, both serving great food.
“I think it’s a great community event and it kind of showcases local breweries and food places and it’s just good for tourism in general,” added Magill.
Magill’s restaurant serves “familiar” food with a “spin” of his own sprinkled into the mix.
When asked how he’s feeling about the upcoming competition he stated, “there’s nothing wrong with a friendly competition to see what everyone else is up to.”
Those interested in learning more about Feast of Hops can go to the Rotary Club of Erin’s website: erinrotary.com.
Information about the event can be found under the “news and events” tab.
