A major festival suddenly canceled in Mississauga

The craft beer festival, scheduled for next month, has been canceled in Mississauga.

CreativeHub 1352, organizers of the Mississauga Creative Craft Beer Festival say they were forced to cancel the June 14-15 event at the Small Arms Inspection Building due to event capacity limits.

“It is with great disappointment that we inform you of the cancellation of the Mississauga Creative Craft Beer Festival 2024,” organizers wrote on the website. “This decision follows unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of CreativeHub 1352.”

Organizers said they previously had agreements with the City of Mississauga regarding capacity limits for the event, but those limits have now been reduced to a point where the event would no longer be able to recover its costs.

The City of Mississauga, in consultation with Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services and in accordance with the Ontario Fire Code, has determined that the interior of the Small Arms Building currently has an intended capacity for 400 people, said Kristina Zietsma, director of recreation and culture. in a statement sent by email to insauga.com.

“Unfortunately, this was not consistent with the capacity that was previously communicated to event organizers by the City,” Zietsma said. “We apologize for this confusion.”

The city explored alternatives to support the event, including using outdoor space and tents to increase the overall capacity of the small arms building, Zietsma said.

“Unfortunately, the event organizers have chosen not to pursue this opportunity at this time,” Zietsma added.

But festival organizers said they were unable to find a solution for this year’s event.

“Despite our best efforts to meet this challenge, we had no choice but to cancel this year’s event,” organizers wrote. “We prioritize our suppliers and it would be unfair to proceed with an event that was significantly lower in capacity than previous festivals.”

Organizers added that the decision was not taken lightly and that they explored all possible avenues to ensure the festival went ahead as planned.

“We understand the disappointment and inconvenience this may cause for you and your team, and we would like to sincerely apologize,” they wrote.

They hope to reach an agreement with the city to host the festival next year.

Deposits made will be fully refunded, organizers said. More information regarding the refund process will be sent shortly.

The festival began in 2022, after postponements due to the pandemic.

It featured Ontario craft breweries and cideries, food and entertainment from local talent.

For more information on cancellation, visit the website here.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 11:30 a.m. to include a statement from the City of Mississauga.

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