Head for the Hills organizers are ready to get the taps flowing, with a twist.
For nearly a decade, the festival founded by Georgetown's four service clubs has been providing people with a place to gather and discover new refreshments, as well as a way to support local charities. But it was time to expand beyond the scope of just hops and grains.
“Starting this year, we're going to have a much wider variety of beverages that people can enjoy,” said Head for the Hills president John Fini. “Craft beers will of course still be the priority, but there are also craft ciders, seltzers, wines, and spirits.”
Now known as the Head for the Hills Craft Beverage Festival, the event is slated for Sept. 16 at Trafalgar Sports Park, and tickets are currently on sale.
The popular gathering has raised money for Food4Kids Halton, a program that provides healthy meals to children outside of school hours, and Cancer Assistance Services of Halton Hills, which provides equipment, transportation, and home care assistance to people with cancer.
Charity has been top of mind for festival organizers from the beginning, and it has since evolved into a community event.
“People that were born and raised in Georgetown and have moved away treat it as a sort of homecoming event,” said Fini. “Plus we get a good crowd from Milton, Brampton, Mississauga, and all sorts of places outside of Halton Hills.”
As a community event, local breweries are front and centre each year showcasing their latest concoctions.
Furnace Room Brewery from Georgetown has been a part of the festival for years, and will be making the trek to Trafalgar Sports Park this September to fill pints once again.
“Last year, we had lineups all day for our products,” said Furnace Room Brewery co-owner Andy Bell.
The festival is an opportunity for local brewers to connect with their audience and do test runs to gauge reactions to new drinks. Bell said the novelty of craft brewing is the chance to do smaller runs of unique beers, constantly develop new recipes, and being able to bring people together to try them out.
However, there are still staples that bring people back to the brand time after time, such as Furnace Room’s Beardmore kolsh or the IPA named after Georgetown’s famous Chicken Man, which Bell said the origins of are a bit hazy.
“I know George Chaplin rode around on a bike with his pet chicken, and I’ve heard many different names for the chicken,” he said.
A previous HaltonHillsToday article found that the chicken – who was actually a hen – was named Chuck Chuck, and that the Furnace Room wanted to highlight the local legend.
Being from the area, Bell knows how important it is to locals to have a drink produced at home that they can be proud of, and that the festival is a way to get more people excited about local business.
“This is something that puts Georgetown on the map,” said Bell. “It’s one of the best run festivals out there, and hopefully it’s a point of pride in the community.”
Tickets for the festival are $35, though discount bundles are available as well.
For further details and to purchase tickets, visit https://headforthehills.ca/.