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Nose Creek Park to host inaugural food and music festival this July

An Airdrie resident is spearheading the city’s first food and music festival in Nose Creek Regional Park next month in the hopes of reinvigorating local businesses and providing support to struggling entertainers who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Airdrie resident is spearheading the city’s first food and music festival in Nose Creek Regional Park next month in the hopes of reinvigorating local businesses and providing support to struggling entertainers who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Airdrie Food For Thought Cultural Festival aims to become the Calgary region’s largest “innovation and gastronomic celebration.” The event is scheduled to take place on July 9 and 10, according to the event’s website.

Vern Raincock, an Airdrie resident and the founder of the festival, said the event is a celebration of the province’s diverse entertainment and culinary industries – two industries that have been severely impacted by COVID-19 health restrictions and lockdowns in the last year and a half.  

“There is hope, I think, after COVID,” Raincock said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re standing at this stage, pretty much everybody’s had to pivot and reassess things. Hopefully going forward, this is an opportunity for Albertans primarily to recognize we have a lot going for ourselves.”

Raincock said the Food For Thought event stemmed from a desire to provide a platform for Albertan businesses to “showcase some of their big picture innovations on the world stage.” He added there is oftentimes a lot of negative press in Alberta regarding the economy and the oil and gas sector and he would like to see the focus shifted instead towards the successes of small to medium-sized innovative enterprises.

“I’d like to see [these businesses] have an opportunity to set up a little canopy and educate families that will be coming to the event,” he said, adding the concept will be similar to the television series Dragon’s Den, with business setting up a booth to pitch their ideas to the public.

“Airdrie isn’t a bedroom community – there’s a lot more going on [here],” he said. “And that’s for me, the reason behind what I’m trying to do here.”

In addition to the booths, Raincock added he is inviting artists from all walks of life to take the stage at Food For Thought, including visual artists, theatre groups and musicians. Food truck operators who are attending the event and some breweries will be invited to donate or sponsor some of the acts.

“We’re giving this opportunity for [food trucks and breweries] who have been severely hit by COVID, to spread the love,” he said. “Something as simple as that gives not only the restaurant and food truck operators – as well as beverage producers – an opportunity to create additional awareness here in the local community.”

Raincock, who founded an independent craft beer and wine import and distribution company in 2002, will be inviting food trucks and breweries to sell their products at the event in exchange for a booth fee.

“In a perfect world, we probably wouldn’t be charging any booth fees whatsoever, but we do recognize the cost of insurance, security, and everything else has to be covered somehow,” he said.

Over a decade ago, Raincock helped found the Craft Brewers Hockey League. He has also been an advocate for craft beer festivals in Calgary and the surrounding area since then. Food For Thought will also be host to a beer garden offering up a selection of various local brews.

Raincock said that once Alberta Health Services (AHS) provides approval to go ahead with Food For Thought, all government safety regulations will be adhered to, and mask-wearing will be encouraged in washrooms and other crowded areas. He added he has been working with the City of Airdrie since March to plan for the event and so far, the response at the municipal level has been positive.

He added this year will be a sort of trial run for the event, pending approval from AHS, but he hopes that next year will be “bigger and better.”

“You need to make sure that all first responding groups – fire, RCMP, as well as AHS – are aware of the program and have reviewed it [beforehand], and fingers crossed that they’ve said yes, and it’s a go ahead,” he said. “There’s still a lot of wild cards right now, but the interest at a grassroots level is tremendous.

“I think at this stage, we all need some opportunities to take our family out, have a picnic, and just be human again,” he added. “This is an attempt to make sure that people in Alberta have a chance to get outside and have a breath of fresh air.”

Raincock said the organizers are seeking volunteers and local sponsorships to help make the event a success. He added additional information regarding the event can be found at bit.ly/3j0s5av

Follow me on Twitter @carmenrcundy  

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