ABF – SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY THAT SUPPORTS US

It was just 3 days before the Calgary International Beerfest was set to open its doors, when news reports about what was going on in Fort Mac Murray started. As the news reports continued to show the magnitude of what the people of Fort Mac Murray were facing, and the devastation caused by the fire there, Alberta and the world looked on with worry and great sympathy. “We are a small company, but we wanted to do what we could to help,” said Mark Kondrat, one of the Managing Partners of Alberta Beer Festivals. “Every event we’ve organized in our 12 year history has had a charitable element. We hoped we could find a way to help through our festival.” For more information about Red Cross’s involvement, please visit http://www.redcross.ca/crc/documents/Where-We-Work/Canada/Alberta/AlbertaFiresInfo/Alberta-Fires-Three-Month-Update-Infographic-FINAL-EN.PDF.

Over the course of the 2 day festival and the Edmonton Craft Beer Festival a month later, ABF managed to raise over $12,000 for the Canadian Red Cross relief efforts. “The beer community really supported and encouraged our efforts,” said Trevor Bacon, Director of Communications for ABF. “T-shirt sales and the special ticket campaign we ran all went to help raise funds. And this was done in addition to the charities we were already supporting through our events. We would also like to thank our charities of choice, AAFS, Kids Up Front, Edmonton’s Food Bank, and the Alberta Cancer Society, for being so supportive of our efforts to raise funds for the people of Fort Mac.”

Over its 12 year history, ABF has raised over $250,000 for their charities of choice, while also contributing more than that amount in in-kind donations to over 70 charities operating in the province. “We know we are part of the community and that we have a responsibility to do what we can to help,” said Dillon Stecyk, Director of Sales for ABF. “From committing to always having charities involved with our events, to providing tickets to a wide range of fundraisers over the years, we always try to find a way to get involved.”

As ABF ramps up for Calgary Oktoberfest (Sept 23/24) and Edmonton Oktoberfest (Sept 30/Oct 1), they invite you to come out and celebrate Alberta Beer Week in support of their charities of choice, AAFS, Kids Up Front, and Edmonton’s Food Bank. For information or tickets to the events, visit www.albertabeerfestivals.com.