Edwards, Sloan play Beau’s Oktoberfest
Canadian alt-country star Kathleen Edwards and rockers Sloan will headline the fifth annual Beau’s Oktoberfest in Vankleek Hill, scheduled for Oct. 4-5.
The festival hosted by the craft beer company also features 20 restaurants creating Bavarian and seasonally inspired food, including Whalesbone Catering and Brothers Beer Bistro, Union 613, Two Six (Ate) and Toronto’s Wvrst.
There will be a kinder-fest with games for children, a midway and competitions such as the stein-hold struggle, spouse-carrying race, sausage-eating contest, malt sack races and beer keg toss.
A speaker series offers talks from beer experts on topics such as how to pair craft beer with food. Nine Beau’s beers will be on tap, including creations designed for the festival. Other musical performers include The Sadies, The Mahones, Young Rival, The Balconies, Rich Aucoin and polka king Walter Ostanek.
The festival, held at the Vankleek Hill Fairgrounds, has raised more than $163,000 for charities since it began.
This year’s fundraising goal is $75,000, to go to United Way Ottawa, Canadian Canoe Foundation, Kiva, Just Food and the Vankleek Hill Agricultural Society.
To help raise the money, the festival is sponsoring a charity bike ride from Ottawa to Oktoberfest and a beer-filled dunk tank.
Tickets go on sale Aug. 8. A day pass is $22, or two days for $38. Youth tickets are $5. Round-trip shuttle buses from Ottawa, Cornwall and Montreal are available for $15. For more information, visit the website at beaus.ca/oktoberfest