In existence for only two years, Mississauga’s Creative Craft Beer Festival has gained popularity quickly but sadly, 2024’s event has been cancelled.

Slated to take place in mid June, the festival, which originated in 2022, has gone flat.
We’ve got statements from both sides which are listed below, with capacity limits being the key soured ingredient.

Here’s what CreativeHub 1352’s statement says:

It’s with great disappointment that we inform you of the cancellation of the Mississauga Creative Craft Beer Festival. This decision comes as a result of unforeseen circumstances beyond CreativeHub 1352’s control.

While we had previous agreements with the City regarding the capacity limits for the event, the City has decreased the capacity limit to a point where the event would no longer recover its costs. Despite our best efforts to navigate this challenge, we have been left with no choice but to cancel this year's event. We prioritize our vendors and it would be unfair to proceed with an event where the capacity was significantly lower than previous festivals.

Please know that this decision was not taken lightly, and that we explored every possible avenue to proceed with the Festival as planned.

Once again, we extend our apologies for any inconvenience caused by this cancellation. We appreciate your understanding and continued support during this challenging time. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us directly.

1352’s Executive Director, Meredith Wood, says “We’re disappointed to share news of the unfortunate cancellation of the Mississauga Creative Craft Beer Festival this June. The City of Mississauga, in consultation with Mississauga Fire and Emergency Service, and in accordance with the Ontario Fire Code, determined that the inside of the Small Arms Building currently has a designated capacity for 400 people, which was inconsistent with past agreements we had with organizers the past two years of the festival. While we worked closely with the City of Mississauga to investigate alternatives to support the event, unfortunately, outdoor options provided were not able to be integrated logistically within the timeframe left before the festival. Challenges with set capacity numbers for the outdoors and indoor portions of the Small Arms Inspection Building, as well as the risk of inclement weather, and added logistical costs to support these added infrastructures, ultimately resulted in us making the difficult decision to cancel this year’s event.  While more planning time may have allowed us to find other solutions, there simply was not the time available before the Festival was to take place to undertake the logistical and operational planning to bring it to fruition. Although we are unable to host the Festival this year, we are optimistic about finding a resolution with the City and look forward to welcoming you back to future events and next year's Festival once a solution is reached.”

Kristina Zietsma, Director, Recreation & Culture shared this statement with Modern Mississauga Media:

In consultation with Mississauga Fire & Emergency Service and in accordance with the Ontario Fire Code, it was determined that the inside of the Small Arms Building currently has a designed capacity for 400 people.  Regrettably, this was inconsistent with the capacity that had previously been communicated to event organizers by the City. We do apologize for this confusion.

However, the City did explore alternatives to support the event, including using outdoor space and tents to increase overall capacity at the Small Arms Building.  Unfortunately event organizers chose not to pursue this opportunity at this time.

Now that you’ve got both pieces of information, what’s your take on this?