Organizers of Whitby beer festival upset at 11th hour cancellation – ‘This could have gone on’

One of the key organizers of a beer festival cancelled at the 11th hour in Whitby is looking for answers as to why Whitby Beer Fest 2024 was given the axe just two days before the event was scheduled to begin.

Roxanne Serra, a digital creator who has planned hundreds of community events and has led a “small but mighty” team of volunteers who have been working for months on the on-again-off-again beer festival, said there was no “legitimate reason” given by the Whitby Chamber of Commerce for the cancellation.

“I know everyone is looking for an answer as to WHY they cancelled the event and on the call I received advising me of their decision at the extreme last minute there really wasn’t a legitimate reason given,” Serra said. “The event was planned and ready for execution, (with) incredible breweries and delicious food trucks excited to participate, generous sponsors supporting, fabulous live acts ready to go and ticket sales soaring, especially with the beautiful weather forecast this weekend.”

Roxanne Serra

The beer fest has been operated each September (except for the pandemic years) at Whitby’s Celebration Square since 2019 by the town’s DBIA. In April of this year the business group announced they were stepping away from the event – citing the non-friendly nature of a beer festival and the lack of foot traffic for area businesses – and in July the Whitby Chamber stepped in and said they would take it over.

Plans were made, breweries were invited and the event was set to go until the chamber – which recently welcomed a new Executive Director, former Scugog Chamber boss Karey Anne Large, pulled the plug Tuesday evening, announcing the move to the public Wednesday.

The reason offered by the chamber (who called it a “postponement,” not a cancellation) was that they needed more time to plan a “perfect community event,” with Chamber Corporate Secretary Ken Regular saying they need to “create a safe event for everyone” and that it would be “irresponsible to do anything less.”

Serra said Regular’s comment that it takes time to plan a perfect community event was the only factual line in his statement and wanted to “set the record straight.”

“As you can imagine, the process of planning an event like this consists of weekly meetings for months (and) not once at any of those meetings did the Whitby Chamber of Commerce even mention the word ‘safety,’ nor when I received the call on Tuesday evening advising me of their decision to cancel, was the word ‘safety’ ever used,” she said. “The only change that occurred was the leadership at the chamber. A week and a half before the event they decided to make a change in leadership and unfortunately the new leader was not supportive of our volunteer team, or our event it seems, given the abrupt change in direction.”

Karey Anne Large

Serra said the job of the chamber is to “build businesses up, not tear them down.”

“They’ve left our partners and business community in a very challenging position this weekend … and it was completely unnecessary. This event could have gone off without a hitch as planned.”

The brewers were understandably upset, with local brewers Town – “We are just as disappointed as anyone that it’s not happening” and Little Beasts – “We’re disappointed not to have the chance to showcase our beers alongside other craft brewers” expressing their disappointment.

The event-loving public weren’t happy either:

• “What a huge MISSED opportunity” – Christian
• “Unbelievable” – Beverley
• “How sad and careless!”– Roger
• “This is a mess” – Margot

No dates have been offered for a future beer festival in Whitby and the Whitby Chamber has turned off notifications on their Facebook page.