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The 2021 edition of Penticton Beer Week officially debuted Friday night. But today was the day it kicked into high gear.
Doing the kicking was the fifth iteration of another event that in just a few years has gained quite the following of its own.
It combines exercise (running) with repeated alcohol (beer) sampling along the way. It's called, fittingly enough, the Penticton Beer Run, and today, for the very first time, it was held in conjunction with Beer Week.
Beer Run meets Beer Week. It's a natural.
"The idea behind the Beer Run," said Lyndie Hill of organizing body Hoodoo Adventures this morning, "was to promote the local breweries because we have such a growing brew scene here. So we wanted a great event that was active, because that's Hoodoo, and that promotes the brew scene.
"We did our most recent one in June, but it had been postponed due to COVID and a lot of people couldn't do it. So we decided we'd hold another one to kick off beer week. And everyone seems to think that’s a pretty good idea. I think we might keep it as the kick-off event."
Participants began their journey this morning at the Hoodoo HQ on Ellis Street, where Oliver's Firehall Brewery had set up shop. From there they moved on to Bad Tattoo and the still unopened Hwy 97 before making a sizable 2.7-kilometer cross-town dash to Tin Whistle on Fairview Road.
They then backtracked another 2.7K to the Bench Market for a snack, then jumped over to Neighbourhood Brewing and Ikeda Japanese Garden for a photo opp. The day ended at Slackwater and Cannery.
That 250 people signed up for the craziness is probably the most impressive stat of all. That many of them were costumed only added to the fun.
Jordan Elliot was one of the 250. She came to Penticton all the way from Vernon specifically for the Beer Run, bringing along four of her best buddies. All are members of the "Brew Jays" softball team.
"We came here for this…for the beer," she said with a laugh while sampling at Bad Tattoo. "But we're trying to disguise it as health.
"But really, we saw it online and said let's do it. It's a blast."
Later over at Tin Whistle we chatted with another Jordan -- Jordan Prentice of Penticton. Prentice moved here from Edmonton just two weeks ago, and today was doing the rounds with five friends and family members.
We asked why he made the move. He pointed toward the mountains, smiled, and said, "You probably don't need more of an explanation."
"But I love the Beer Run. There's drinking, sure, but when you add 10K to it, there are real goals too. I actually have to make it somewhere first."
Just a few feet away was Tin Whistle co-owner Alexis Esseltine, who with hubby Timothy Scoon bought the brewery in 2020. This was her inaugural Beer Week.
"It's a blast," she said. "We come from Toronto where there's cutthroat competition and you try to take each other down. But it’s not like that here. We all work together to make this a real destination. We're the beer capital of Canada."
According to Esseltine, Tin Whistle is now the first carbon-neutral brewery in BC.
"We're focused on making incredible beer that specializes in local ingredients as much as we can. Great beer, but really thoughtful beer where we really think about our impact. We're really trying to steward Tin Whistle to the next stage of its life."
Meanwhile over at the Cannery, co-owner Ian Dyck waited for the flood of imbibing athletes that would begin in another hour or so.
"This is year three (of Beer Week)," he said. "It's just a celebration. With the new breweries and new partners coming to town, the new owners at the Tin Whistle, Neighbourhood (Brewing) opening, Abandoned Rail soon to be opening, and so much more, it's just a celebration of what we do here.
"We have a collaboration beer every year that's a fundraiser for the community. This year it's called 'Do Good.' Brewed at Neighborhood, it's a golden citrus sour with some local honey and vanilla. Lots of flavor and really refreshing."
Dyck was understandably most psyched about Cannery's own Beer Week event, unfolding Oct. 17th and called "Return to Ale-catraz."
"We'll have The Wienery food truck here, and we'll have a pile of different guest taps from around the country and the US as well. We'll be open 2 (pm) to 8 (pm) with live music."
A few blocks away, Bad Tattoo's Marley Gravely poured samplers for the folks now crowding her doorstep, saying Beer Week is "really important, especially during COVID."
"It brings people together. It's brings people from out of town to experience the Penticton beer scene, which is just awesome.
"Even today we've had people from out of town and others who said they don’t normally drink beer but made an exception."
Gravely couldn’t leave us without giving a shout-out to Beer Week driving force, Cannery marketing director Kim Lawton.
"Just a very big honourable mention to Kim," she said. "She's such an amazing human being for putting on this event."
For more info on Penticton Beer Week, which runs from now through Oct 23rd and next year is scheduled for Oct 14 to 22, go here.
For more info on the Penticton Beer Run, which for 2022 is set for Oct 15, go here.
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