YOU CAN HELP SUPPORT LOCAL RIGHT NOW!

Here’s how you can support your favorite brewery/distillery/cidery/meadery/restaurant!

Although I’ve never done any research, I think it is safe to say that my brother’s stag was one of the worst in unrecorded history. Instead of a brewery tour with different ‘activities’ at each stop, we found ourselves up to our waste in the fecal water that had flooded into his basement. The stag was scheduled on the Saturday of the flood that ravaged parts of Calgary in 2013, and needless to say, it didn’t go according to plan.

The main thing I took away from that experience (other than the image of 10 feet piles of garbage lining both sides of his street) was the way the community came together to deal with what was going on. Of course I would be there helping – it was my brother’s house that flooded a week before his wedding – that just made sense. What surprised and also inspired me were the people with no connection to my brother or anyone else on his street who showed up to volunteer their time. There was a never ending stream of people walking up to the house and saying, “I’m here to help. Where do you need me?” Sometimes adversity can bring out the worst in people (I’m talking about you toilet paper/sanitizer/food hoarders), but so often, it can bring out the absolute best. 

Now obviously the pandemic we are all facing today is a far greater challenge than the flood, but there are some similar elements nonetheless. You’ll never be able to discover the depths of your courage if you only have good things happen to you – so it is in these times of great adversity that we are given the opportunity to discover who we are and what we truly stand for. 

Many of the breweries, distilleries, cideries, meaderies, eateries, pubs and restaurants that Alberta Beer Festivals loves and supports are facing great adversity. It’s no secret that many small and local businesses now face uncertain futures. It’s not clear how they can continue to support their staff, when they might reopen their doors, or whether some of them will be able to survive this crisis at all.

We know that many of you would rush out to these businesses to give them your support right now if you could – but social distancing is preventing that from happening. We also know that same social distancing might be putting a bit of a drag on your disposition. Well ABF has come up with a way for you to not only help all these establishments but also give yourself something to look forward to. Head to ABFMarket.com and purchase a gift card for your favorite places. The cards will come in denominations of $25, $50 and $100. Buy one today, help these amazing people ride the wave of adversity we are all facing, then look forward to celebrating when things return to normal. They also make fantastic gifts – for people whose birthdays are ruined by the pandemic, to cheer someone up, or to give others something to look forward to as well.

Thanks for being part of this amazing community and for helping ABF do what we can to pull through this together!