City Manager General Manager Parks, Recreation and Culture Services. Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival - Special Event Permit Exemption

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1 Co^itlam For Council Our File: /000/ Doc#: VI To: From: Subject: For: City Manager General Manager Parks, Recreation and Culture Services Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival - Special Event Permit Exemption Council Recommendation: That Council designates the 2019 Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival, to be held at the Westwood Plateau Golf Course on March 9, 2019, as a municipally significant event. Report Purpose: The purpose of this report is to seek Council's approval to endorse the Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival's request to be designated as a municipally significant event, to enable the event organizers to apply for a Special Event Permit (SEP) exemption from the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB). Strategic Goal: This report supports the City goals of strengthening neighbourhoods, expanding local Jobs and local prosperity, increasing active participation and creativity and achieving excellence in City governance. Additionally, this report supports the Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan recommendation to build capacity and review policies and practices that support the delivery of events. Background: At the June 25, 2018 Council-in-Committee meeting staff informed Committee of recent changes made by the BC Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch regarding (LCRB) its Special Occasion Permit exemption policy and outlined an administrative approach to address the changes. The LCRB issues Special Event Permits (SEP's) to event organizers who wish to provide temporary or infrequent liquor service at events such as private functions, community festivals and manufacturer tastings. Previously, the LCRB Policy did not allow a SEP to be issued for the primary purpose of making profit, but instead had to be associated with a registered non-profit organization, with liquor sales profits going to that organization. Effective February 26, 2018, the LCRB may exempt for-profit SEP holders from donating all liquor profits to charity, if the event is of municipal, provincial national or international significance. In the case of municipally significant, local munjcipalities are responsible for making this determination. This change applies to events held on either public or private property. File #: /000/ Doc #: V1

2 Page 2 Currently, the General Manager (CM) of Parks, Recreation and Culture Services (PRC) has the delegated authority to provide written approval prior to organizers seeking a SEP for an event held on City property. Once approval is obtained from the City, the Event Organizer can then submit an SEP application to the LCRB. At the September 17, 2018 Council meeting. Council endorsed the Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival request to have the 2018 Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival designated as a municipally significant event to enable the event organizers to apply for the Special Event Permit (SEP) exemption from the LCRB. In 2018, the festival donated the profits,from ticket sales to Team Taylor of the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Staff will be bringing forward a report later in the year to enable Council to consider delegating the authority to designate events as municipally significant to staff, however, this report is not yet ready. At this time. Council endorsement is still required to designate events as municipally significant, and thus enable applicants to be eligible for the LCRB exemption. The organizers of the Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival require a Council decision to allow sufficient time to apply to LCRB for their SEP for the 2019 event (Attachment l). Discussion/Analysis: The Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival will be held at the Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club on March 9, The event, which is in its fourth year, is organized by West Coast Experiences as a way to engage local beer and food lovers and raise funds to support a local charity. The organizers encourage and prioritize the participation of local craft breweries, restaurants and caterers in the events. Marketing for the festival is mainly done through local and social media. The Tri-City News continues to be a sponsor of the festival with ads being published leading up to the event. The organizers will be donating a portion of the ticket sales from the 2019 event to the Ride to Conquer Cancer, while retaining some revenue to cover increased operating/event organization costs. The amount that will be donated from ticket sales will not be known until after the event is realized. However, the organizers plan to donate 100% of the onsite fundraising activities to the charity (i.e. silent auction, 50/50 draw; wine raffle; grand prize raffle), which in the past has been in the range of $12,000 to $15,000. Staff support designating this event as municipally significant based on the following: 1. Promotion of Tourism: During the festival weekend, over 500 attendees and vendors outside Coquitlam participate in the Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival coming from Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the USA. File#: /000/ Doc #: V1

3 Pages 2. Charity Support: Organizers will continue to donate a portion of the funds from ticket sales revenue, as well as on-site fundraising efforts, to support a local charity. 3. Economic Development: The event supports and promotes the participation of local businesses. Financial Implications: There are no financial implications associated with this report. Conclusion: Effective February 26, 2018, the LCRB may exempt SEP applicants from donating liquor profits to charity if the event is of municipal, provincial, national or international significance. Local municipalities are responsible for determining whether an event is municipally significant. The Coquitlam 2019 Craft Beer Festival contributes to economic development and promotes tourism in Coquitlam, and draw visitors from around the region. As well, a portion of ticket sales and on-site fundraising for the event will continue to support charitable activities. On this basis, staff supports the request and recommends that Council designate the event as municipally significant. Raul Allueva, RPP Attachments: 1 - West Coast Experiences letter of request This report was prepared by Karen Basi, Cultural Services Manager and reviewed by Vinh Truong, Acting Manager Community Recreation and Culture, and Eric Kalnins, Tourism Manager. File#: /000/ Doc#: 3l65836.vl

4 ATTACHMENT 1 Wesi Coast Experiences November 29, 2018 Karen Basi, Cultural Services Manager City of Coquitlam 3000 Guildford Way Coquitlam, BC V3B7N2 kbasi^coauitlam.ca RE: Municipallv Significant Event - Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival Dear Karen, We're writing to you today to be considered for a letter indicating that our event is municipally significant in the City of Coquitlam in order to assist with the Special Event Permit application through the BCLDB. The Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival was created by West Coast Experiences as a way to support a charity and encourage local beer and food lovers to experience the best BC has to offer. Using the Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club as the host venue encourages the enjoyment of an indoor tour of many different craft breweries, local restaurants and caterers. The event team encourages and prioritizes local companies to participate as an important part of maintaining the community connection. As we now head into our fourth year in hosting the Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival, we are in the process of selecting our charity of choice for Partnering with an organization that operates within the same value system as West Coast Experiences is crucial to the success of the event. Marketing for the festival is mainly done through local media and an online community presence using social media. The TriCity NEWS continues to be a sponsor of the festival, and ads will run in their publications leading up to the events. 1 I P a g e Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival

5 West Coast Experiences SNAP has also been a good connection for the festival as we're able to list the event on their website at no cost to gain local exposure. They have also occasionally sent a photographer to take pictures of the festival that are shared on their website. The City of Coquitlam tourism team has been incredibly supportive over the past two years with listing the events in the printed calendar as well as including them on social media. It's important to note that we believe there is a municipality significance to this event: 1. Promotes tourism: During a festival weekend over 500 attendees and vendors join in the festivities from areas such as Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and even the USA. 2. Economic development: Supports and promotes local businesses. 3. Charity: Fundraising support through tickets sales revenue and on-site fundraising. The next Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival will be held on March 9*^ If approved, it would be ideal to confirm this letter in January prior to completing our application for the Special Event Liquor permit (SEP). Thank you again for your consideration of this request. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Warm regards. John Gerum General Manager Cell: E: iohnr@westcoastexperiences.com Carolyn Ahrendt Director of Events Office: E: carolvna@westcoastexperiences.com 2 I P a g e Coquitlam Craft Beer Festival