Ever since upgrades were made to the Wharf at Westview three summers ago, event promoter Amy Sharp has felt its calling. One might even say it was pier pressure that influenced her decision to use it as the location for Powell River’s newest outdoor gathering.
Beer on the Pier will take place on Friday, August 22, and Saturday, August 23, bringing together local food and beverage providers with live music on a bustling seaside strip.
“I just love the venue,” Sharp said. “The city has spent a lot of money in creating all that space and I’d really like to show it off.”
Recent liquor licensing changes have also helped pave the way. “What you can do now with liquor licensing is whole site licensing...That way when people come through the entry with their ticket they’ll be marked right then and there whether or not they’re 19 and they can drink, and people can move freely within the whole venue.”
Townsite Brewing will be in attendance, along with representatives from Tofino Brewing Company and Merridale Cider Works on Vancouver Island. “There will be pop there as well because it is an all-ages thing,” said Sharp.
Several food vendors will be set up along the wharf—everything from wood-fired pizzas to burgers with all the fixings. “I’m sure that the food vendors are going to be ready for 5 pm but the basic events are going to run from 6 pm to 12 both nights,” she said.
Entertainment will be a mixture of local and out-of-town talent. “Friday night we’ve got Robotic Horse Mechanical Sun. They’re a really great band from Roberts Creek,” said Sharp. “They’ve been up here one other time. It’s kind of alternative country.
“The other band for Friday night is Powell River’s own Paradise which has got lots of local favourites like Renelle Wikene and Sam Sansalone,” she continued. “And then Saturday we’ve got the last three years of Powell River Idol winners, so that’s Ildiko Jane Kelly, Dawson Brown and Jasper Snow Sassaman.”
Two other bands featuring Powell River Idol alumni will take the stage that night as well, Potential Union and Wasted Thumb, which include fan favourites Austin Parise and Cody Jackson.
Beer on the Pier will be a fundraiser for Powell River Idol and for École Côte du Soleil’s Destination Imagination team. Destination Imagination is a worldwide non-profit educational program for children in grade school, who are assigned a series of challenges and encouraged to think outside the box in order to solve them. “They have to come up with the answers and they create a play and it basically has to be eight minutes long,” Sharp explained. “The team here from the French school won in Powell River, won in Richmond, and then after that they got to go all the way to Tennessee. That had a lot of cost involved but it was a really fantastic event. It was at the University of Knoxville and there were 17,000 people there for this event from all over the world.”
Sharp said she intends to promote Beer on the Pier on-air at several radio stations around Vancouver Island, in addition to her local efforts at 95.7 Sun FM, in the hopes of attracting visitors from out of town. “You get off the ferry and you’re at the party,” she said. “I’m hoping that we can increase [the number of] people going back and forth to Powell River.”
Tickets are $15 per night or $25 for both, available at Rockit Music, Capone’s and Townsite Brewing. For more information, readers may contact Sharp at 604.414.4168.
