PHOTOS: Beer Fest takes over City Park

The taps were flowing at City Park as thousands converged downtown for the Kelowna Beer Fest on Saturday.

The festivities took over a section of the park for a majority of the day as patrons were split into two sessions this year to allow for more space and less crowds.

“We did it this way because last year's capacity was 4000, but we felt like it was very crowded,” said Jules Quesnel, Thick as Thieves Entertainment's marketing director.

“We brought more breweries, more shade…it's been great to be able to have a little bit less people per timeslot – spread it out some more.

And was the shade ever enjoyed by event attendees as Kelowna tied a 31-year-old temperature record on Saturday with a high of 31.1℃.

Alongside the 38 options to choose a sample or a larger drink were food trucks, music, circus performers, lawn games and more.

Among the brewers were vendors of various sorts and, of course, stations to pick up some water.

Next up for the Thick as Thieves Entertainment group will be a return to City Park for Denim on the Diamond in August.

The festival is expanding to three days this year and is scheduled for the 2024 Labour Day weekend.