Powassan is cashing in on the craft brewing phenomenon by staging a beer festival this summer.
Peter McIsaac, the mayor of Powassan tells BayToday the one-day event will happen Saturday, June 16th.
The microbreweries will set up inside the Sportsplex.
Six breweries have confirmed and another six are expected to be added. "We're pretty happy with the response," said McIsaac.
Drinkers will be able to sample all the products and buy the beer at the end of the day with proceeds going toward the town's recreational program.
"We've been kicking this idea around for a couple of years and we think there is a need in this area for a pretty decent sized beer festival so we're very excited about it," explained the mayor.
Companies such as New Ontario from North Bay, Highlander from South River and Sleeping Giant from Thunder Bay will serve up their suds.
"All the invitees are breweries from northern Ontario but if we grow big enough we may reach down into southern Ontario"
McIssac says he got the idea from a "really good" beer festival that Bracebridge holds each summer.
"There's probably 60 to 80 beer producers that go to that and its a really good day and I thought there seems to be a need in our area to have one of these. It's going to be a great day."
The town is adding a beer festival but won't be seeing the Bikers Battling Cancer motorcycle rally back for a second year.
"They decided they were going to go somewhere else and they announced it was going to be Sunridge," said McIssac. "We knew at the end of last year it likely wouldn't be back in Powassan."
It poured rain most of the weekend but McIssac doesn't think the weather played a role, saying the organizing group decided to look for a new venue.
"The weather obviously did not cooperate last year but at the end of the day, for our first year, we thought it was ok but they decided to move to a different venue and we wish them luck."
Bikers Battling Cancer organizer Don Smith, in an email to BayToday said, "Given the rain and mud, outside again simply wouldn't work logistically speaking. So we looked around and decided on Sundridge. Most of events will be inside, way better and the grounds there are big enough for future growth."
