During its first edition 13 years ago, the Whistler Village Beer Festival (WVBF) spanned only two days. Now it's a weeklong extravaganza.
Many different activities, from a "Sip and Stretch" yoga event at Creekside's Bhavana Studio to Whistler Brewing's five-course night of food-and-drink pairing, have been popping up all over town. The Main Event weekend hits its climax on Saturday: with Big Love Band, Red Chair, DJ Foxy Moron and Fresh Cut Grass bringing live music to Olympic Plaza.
Lawn games, food trucks and all kinds of beverages will be on tap as the WVBF concludes with an Oktoberfest experience across Saturday and Sunday at the Longhorn Saloon. Fresh BBQ is available courtesy of Grimm's Fine Foods, with guests receiving their first drink on the house and an exclusive souvenir stein.
"In partnership with the resort and Tourism Whistler, we really wanted to do some more peripheral programming leading up to the Main Event," says WVBF director Brittia Thompson. "The event kind of got started as a way to drive visitation to Whistler in a quiet, dead period, but now September is just extended summer, essentially. Although the festival is produced by Gibbons, we wanted to showcase the community as a whole and what everyone can offer."
One need not love beer, per se, to enjoy the WVBF. Nonalcoholic beverages have been part of the lineup for four years, while canned craft cocktails will return after debuting to great success in 2023.
Thompson and her team have received much positive feedback about the expanded menu and its appeal to a wider demographic, including gluten-free individuals or those intolerant of beer. Less conventional drinks are sometimes far more popular than traditional beers and ciders, and this year some breweries are set to bring full nonalcoholic kegs.
"Last year, a lot of people were like: 'had I known that there would have been canned cocktails or something other than beer and cider, I would have come out,'" Thompson recalls.
'Like a giant reunion'
Whistlerites will no doubt be familiar with three of the Main Event's musical acts: Big Love, Red Chair and DJ Foxy Moron. Fresh Cut Grass, on the other hand, is a relative newcomer—a five-piece ensemble that specializes in throwing it back to the 1990s and early-2000s heyday of rock, alternative and emo music.
"We always try and showcase local bands," Thompson explains. "One year coming out of COVID, we had [more mainstream] talent but the feedback from that year actually said: 'bring back the local bands.' Red Chair's been a staple: I think they've performed every single festival for us, and they're just great because they can get a crowd going.
"Then the Big Love Band with Erik van Meerbergen—whom I know through Arts Whistler—have performed at Apres Apres a few times, and they are just so lovely to work with. Fresh Cut Grass played a few shows in Squamish, but they've never played up here in Whistler yet so we're really excited to have them. We're really hoping that maybe they will drive up some of the Squamish crowd as well."
Some people make it a point to attend the WVBF perennially, almost like clockwork. Thompson remembers one particular individual who got the festival logo tattooed on his leg, plus another group that returns again and again to honour their late friend (who passed away after their first visit).
"There's definitely quite a few characters that make their appearance every year, so the WVBF is like a giant reunion," says Thompson. "If you're 19-plus, there's something for everyone at the festival."
Check out more details about the WVBF at https://gibbonswhistler.com/festivals-events/whistler-village-beer-festival/.
