Craft beverage festival coming to Caledon this weekend

18 Ontario cider, beer and wine vendors coming to Spirit Tree Estate Cidery on Saturday

By Zachary Roman

A local cidery is hosting an event it hopes will lift people's spirits.

The Get Spirited Craft Beverage & Food Festival is being held at Spirit Tree Estate Cidery this Saturday, June 18. Running from 1 to 8 p.m., the festival will have 18 beer, cider, and wine vendors; two food trucks; and live music all day.

Tickets for the age 19-plus event are $45, include four drink tokens and a Get Spirited cup, and can be purchased online at spirittree.ticketspice.com/get-spirited.

One token is good for a three-ounce drink sample, while two are good for a six-ounce.

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery is located at 1137 Boston Mills Road.

Spirit Tree's marketing and events coordinator, Sarah Rutka, said this year's Get Spirited will be the second one ever. The first one was held in 2018, but a staff shortage and the COVID-19 pandemic meant the second one could not be held until this year.

Now that Get Spirited is back, the plan is to host it annually.

The amount of vendors at this year's Get Spirited is triple the amount of the first event, a sign of its growth. 

“When we started reaching out (to vendors) in March the response was kind of low and we were like, ‘Oh… it might just be another five vendors', but word started picking up and then all of a sudden we got to 15, 16, 17 and now 18,” said Rutka. “We're really excited by the response.”

Rutka said the craft beverage industry is growing and that she's seen lots of growth in the amount of ciders becoming available at the LCBO. Even beyond what's available at the LCBO, Rutka said there's so many hidden gems making beverages in Ontario and the Get Spirited festival will celebrate them.

“I think that small businesses, we're pretty supportive of one another. It's all about getting people out… try us but try them too,” said Rutka. “If we're successful then they're successful too.”

BriSkit Gourmet Slow Cooked Sandwiches is one of the food vendors that will be on site, and Rutka said they have items like brisket on a bun and poutine. The other food vendor coming is 6 Spice Rack, and Rutka said they do things like fried chicken and tacos. Spirit Tree will also be serving its signature thick-crust focaccia pizzas, Rutka added.

The first musicians playing at Get Spirited will be Joe and Steve Burns, a father and son acoustic guitar duo. Following them will be local band 12 Wire. In between live music sets, a DJ will be playing music.

“We've actually just built a new bandshell too at Spirit Tree,” said Rutka. “So, we're excited to officially launch our new bandshell; it's a bit of an elevated stage.”

Rutka said Caledon Mayor Allan Thompson will be stopping by the event to greet guests and that she's hoping for good weather.

She said she hopes the event will help build tourism in Caledon and “get people out to our beautiful town.”