The organizers of the annual Fête de la St-Jean-Baptiste (St. Jean Baptiste Day) in Squamish are planning a public event next week to launch a new beer brewed especially for the celebration and to announce the programs for the upcoming celebrations in Squamish and Whistler.
The event, planned next Thursday (May 26) from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Howe Sound Brewing Co., will include the launch of the new brew "La BrewHAHA!," a presentation of the sponsors and the unveiling of the programming for the second annual Fête de la St-Jean-Baptiste in Squamish on June 24 and the Whistler Multicultural Celebrations, June 27 to 29.
Last month, officials with Ecole les Aiglons, which sponsors the local St. Jean Baptiste celebration, announced La BrewHAHA! as the winning name in the Name the St-Jean-Baptiste Beer Contest. The beer is being brewed at Howe Sound Brewing Co. especially for the two Sea to Sky Corridor celebrations.
Paul Wilson, brewmaster at Howe Sound Brew Pub, was a member of the jury that selected the name.
"La BrewHAHA! speaks to me as a strong beer, like an uproar or even an explosion in the mouth as the French word would suggest," he said in a statement. "It also lends to festivity and summer celebration. I expect to brew a craft beer with character, which will crown one of Squamish's most popular summer festivals."
In addition to samples of the new brew, next Thursday's launch event will include an unveiling of the label for the new brew as well as "some French-coloured food" to sample and performances by some of the acts slated to perform in Squamish on June 24, said Marie-Josee Vermette, co-ordinator of the Fête de la St-Jean-Baptiste in Squamish.
"It won't be an extensive show, but just a taste of what's going to be happening," she said.
Admission to the launch event is free and everyone is invited.
