It’s a different type of fundraising event for a Ponoka service club, but one that may be the start of an annual trend.
The Kinsmen Club of Ponoka is hosting its first ever Kintober Fest on Oct. 5 at the Stagecoach Saloon on the Stampede grounds. The suggestion was something that some members had been mulling over for a while and the time was right to do it.
“A few of us members wanted to host an Oktoberfest-type event that people can come out to and just enjoy a nice night out,” explained event chair and Kinsmen vice-president Justin Graham.
“The event is all about the beer and the entertainment. We have four awesome local breweries and two great bands for guests to enjoy.”
Ponoka’s own Siding 14 Brewing Company jumped on board quite quickly, as did Lacombe’s Blindman Brewing. It also didn’t take much for Troubled Monk Brewery from Red Deer and Rimbey’s Hawk Tail Brewery to climb on board and round out the selections that will be available.
“It wasn’t hard (to get them onboard) at all,”Graham stated.
“All of our breweries are very community-focused and have been a dream to deal with.”
He added that there will be a pair of local food truck vendors on site for the evening — Ponoka’s Hot Express and Asian Food Treats out of Rimbey — providing a diverse selection of items for people to enjoy.
On the entertainment side, it’s going to be a whole lot of country music like one would expect.
Red Deer’s Boots and the Hoots with their unique update on the old time crooners will hopefully have the crowd dancing, with The Give ‘Em Hell Boys out of Edmonton joining to provide some rock and roll swagger to country music.
“We are at about 50 per cent sold at this point,” Graham explained, “so I think sales are going very well. I think that really speaks to the quality of the breweries and the entertainment.”
Tickets, at a cost of $50 each, are available by heading online to kintoberfest.ponokakinsmen.ca. Each ticket also comes with a commemorative beer mug of the event.
“The club has also been working on a very exciting surprise collaboration with Siding 14, which we are very excited to debut at the event,” Graham added.
“We really just want people to come out and enjoy themselves and hope the community receives this type of event well.”
For more information or questions, contact the Kinsmen on any of their social media accounts — Facebook, Twittter, Instagram — or email them at kintoberfest@ponokakinsmen.ca.