The Langford Beer Festival and Great Canadian Beer Festival are both off the books for this summer, based on a decline in attendance and uptick in operating costs
A pair of annual festivals produced by the Victoria Beer Society — including one deemed Canada’s longest-running beer festival — have been postponed due to costs, according to organizers.
The Langford Beer Festival, which arrived in 2022, and the Great Canadian Beer Festival, which celebrated its 30th edition last year, are both off the books for this summer, based on a decline in attendance and uptick in operating costs.
“In our case, as a non-profit, it’s not really looking like a viable proposition right now,” said Joe Wiebe, beer director for the events. “We can’t justify trying to do it and coming out with it being a losing proposition.
“We’re hoping we can bring them back next year, but we have to figure out a viable path forward. We’re not trying to make money. We’re just trying to break even.”
Last year, the Langford event was at Starlight Stadium, while the Victoria instalment was run from Topaz Park.
Previous editions of the Great Canadian Beer Festival, which was founded in 1993, were held at the Victoria Conference Centre, but the event relocated to Royal Athletic Park in 2019, when its average attendance hovered around the 4,000 mark.
Dozens of B.C. and out-of-province breweries participated last year, but Wiebe said there were “definitely” signs of a looming slowdown. He also pointed to a sharp downturn in the craft beer market, as drinkers move away from high-calorie offerings and toward non-alcoholic fare.
In March, more than 40 non-alcoholic drink producers showcased their wares at Free Spirit, a zero-proof event at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. On Aug. 2, the fourth and biggest edition of SoberFest, a popular alcohol-, marijuana- and drug-free festival founded in 2022, will be held at Starlight Stadium.
There are more than 220 craft beer breweries in British Columbia, according to reports, up from 56 in 2012. The demise of the two Vancouver Island festivals may be a case of supply outweighing demand.
“It’s tough out there for events in general. But for the beer industry, it’s especially tough right now,” Wiebe said. “The challenges we’re facing at the festival level are a good example of what breweries are coping with all the time to stay afloat.”
Wiebe is joined on the Victoria Beer Society board by directors Ryan Malcolm, Chris Nohr and Glen Stusek, who assumed control of the Great Canadian Beer Festival after co-founders Gerry Hieter and John Rowling retired in 2019. The loss of the festival, Canada’s first craft beer festival, is a big one, Wiebe said.
“We feel especially sad about it, because we took over the legacy from John and Gerry, who produced it all those years. They handed it over to us, and we were honoured to have that legacy. It’s been a big part of Victoria culture for the past few decades.”
This story by Mike Devlin originally appeared on Times Colonist
mdevlin@timescolonist.com
