Halifax Microbrew Fest & Conference - Oct 2010

There are 329 days until the first ever Halifax Microbrew Fest and Conference, thanks to the countdown ticker on the website that went live today.

East Coast Event Management (ECEM), an event planning organization in Halifax, NS, recently announced their plans to host the first ever Halifax Microbrew Fest & Conference. It's slated to take place in Halifax at the World Trade and Convention Centre on October 22 and 23, 2010 with the hope of attracting brewers, brewery representatives, homebrewers, media, brewing supply businesses, and beer drinkers from all over Canada.

I spoke with Arielle Figov last week, who is one of the two Dalhousie University students who founded the ECEM and who are putting together the fest and conference, and she stated that she hopes to attract a large contingent of breweries from across Canada to the two day event. "We will be contacting small craft breweries across the country, along with brewpubs, industry suppliers, beer media, and homebrew clubs to hopefully get them interested in attending." "We are in the preliminary stages right now, but we anticipate there will be good response from the industry."

The two day event will be the first of its kind in Canada and will feature seminars led by key figures in the beer industry, tasting sessions, homebrewing displays, and much more. From the website: The Craft Brewery Conference will take place Friday October 22, 2010 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. During this time, the Halifax Microbrew Fest will be open to members of the beer industry and consumers eager to learn about the industry. Attendees can expect presentations from speakers from all areas of the the brewing industry.

Figov also mentioned that there will be live music, food pairings supported by local pubs/restaurants, beer memorabilia for sale, poker lessons for beginners, and a homebrewer's taste competition. Sounds like they have something planned for everyone.

Anyone interested in being an exhibitor for the event should head to the website to take advantage of the early bird pricing.