The Community Association in Crossroads was putting together a business plan when one of the members laughingly exclaimed “what about a beer night?”
Others expressed that indeed other communities had tried it before and several breweries were in close proximity to Crossroads. The lighthearted comment turned into the “NorthYeast BrewFest” on April 7, 2018.
The committee of three grew as others learned Crossroads had a beer committee.
“How do I get on a beer committee?” people enthusiastically asked. Crossroads is surrounded by breweries including Zero Issue, Tool Shed, Red Bison, Common Crown and the original Dandy Brewery. Those five breweries came together under one roof to offer samples.
A $25 got you three samples from each of five breweries. Despite near-record-setting cold temperature on April 7, Crossroads managed to sell 130 tickets, pushing its main hall to capacity limits.
Crossroads 2nd Vice President, Ricardo Cosentino, said “the event brought out people we don’t see at other events and some we hadn’t seen in awhile.” Community Associations cater to young children and seniors and often miss having events for those in between. One of the unique factors of this event is that it started at 11 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m. A nice upbeat daytime activity.
Crossroads secretary Kim Ellen, who doesn’t consider herself a beer connoisseur, but helped at the event, was amazed at the atmosphere.
“The smiles on everyone’s faces and the good nature of the clientele really struck me” said Ellen.
The event went so well, Crossroads Community Association has been approached by two other community associations for advice on how they can run their own beer event and the association plans to put on similar event twice per year.
A wise man once told me beer is social lubricant. This event proved it from start to finish providing good banter and chatter amongst a great groups of people.
The Crossroads Community Association represents people in the Calgary communities of Mayland Heights, Belfast and Vista Heights.
