By Adam Frisk Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Community leaders in the County are rejecting the provincial government’s further loosening of alcohol restrictions that would allow people to bring their own drinks to outdoor cultural and community events.
Last month, the Doug Ford government announced that it is expanding tailgatestyle permits to include events like farmers’ markets, concerts, and art festivals, allowing organizers to apply for bring your own booze (BYOB) permits. This would allow attendees to bring and consume their own alcoholic beverages in designated areas.
“Starting this spring, Ontario is giving communities more flexibility to safely and responsibly enjoy cultural and outdoor events,” Attorney general Doug Downey said in a statement. “The ‘bringyour-own’ event permits will help save attendees money, lower overhead costs for event organizers, and contribute to local economies.”
The government said that municipalities that haven’t already done so must enact bylaws to allow drinking in public spaces. The townships will also have to determine whether an event qualifies as a community or cultural gathering, starting April 30.
All four municipalities in the County indicated to The Highlander that they are in no rush to move forward, noting that “staff will be reviewing the information and providing a report to council in the near future; however, the council meeting date has not been determined at this time.”
From art festivals to service clubs, local Haliburton leaders and organizers said they have no interest in BYOB permits. For Laurie Jones, of Rails End Gallery and organizer of Haliburton Art and Craft Festival, and Mike Landry, president of Haliburton Rotary, the provincial policy feels like a solution in search of a problem. Both community members lead popular summer events at Head Lake Park, which have long operated as alcohol-free zones.
“I reached out to the whole club, and the response was that it’s not really something we want to do because our events are all family-oriented,” Landry told The Highlander. “There are a lot of kids who come out. We don’t want to do anything to turn people off.”
Jones echoed the sentiment, noting that a tailgate atmosphere is a stark contrast to an outdoor art festival.
“It’s not exactly an art fair experience,” she said. “There’s no compelling reason for someone to need a beer to have a conversation with an artist.”
While bylaws have yet to be passed or even presented to townships, it seems the public has already started to push back against the idea, according to the Rotary Club.
“We’ve had one person call the organizer of our music in the park and say, ‘Is this “We’ve had one person call the organizer of our music in the park and say, ‘Is this something you’re going to be doing? Because we hope you don’t,” Landry said.
“The reaction from most Rotarians was the same. What we’re doing now works.”
For Jones, there’s also the insurance issue. The cost of insuring 100 participating artists for the festival each requiring $2 million in liability, is already a massive undertaking.
“I hope we never have to test the policy,” Jones said.
The gallery curator and executive director explained that the festival stopped selling alcohol years ago, specifically because insurance premiums for public park events were too high.
While the province claims that the modernization of the tailgate permits is an effort to help boost local economies, Haliburton’s community staples aren’t drinking the spiked Kool-Aid.
“I would not apply,” Jones said.
“It’s not really something that we would get into,” Landry concluded.
