Hold onto your Lucky Charms... The Harrison Beer & Oktoberfest is going Irish!

The 5th Annual Harrison Beer Festival Friday October 28th & Saturday October 29th

First things first. You need to buy tickets before they sell out! Next, you will need a proper Irish Leprechaun Name...

What's your Leprechaun name?

Use the letter that your name starts with to find your first name:

A - Antiquee B - Bubbles C - Corney D - Droopy E - Ethically F - Fussy G - Grumpy H - Harmony I - Itchy J - Jaunty K - Knobby L - Lumpy M - Messy N - Nippy O - Ornery P - Perky Q - Queasy R - Rolypoly S - Snappy T - Testy U - Unruly V - Vaguely W - Wobbley X - Xspecially Y - Yummy Z - Zippy

Use the month that you were born to find your last name:

Jan - McComplicated Feb - O'Doodle Mar - McDiddleDoodle Apr - McCreepy May - O'Lucky Jun - O' Droopy Jul - McSippy Aug - McNugget Sept - O'Shlitzski Oct - McMuffin Nov - McWobbly Dec - O'Shootsky

Now that you have tickets and a proper Irish Name, here are some extremely useful Irish words and phrases:

What? = Cad?

Can you speak more slowly? = An miste leat labhairt níos moille?

You speak Irish, good for you. = Tá Gaeilge agat, bail ó Dhia ort.

I need more beer. = i gá níos mó beoir.

I can't find my beer. = Ní féidir liom teacht ar mo beoir.

Hello, you look like beer. = Dia duit , a fhéachann tú cosúil le beoir.

Can I have your beer? = Is féidir liom a bheith do beoir ?

Do I look fat? = dhéanann Táim saill?

Where's the bottle opener?  I can't get this twisty thing off the top of the bottle! = Nuair is é an opener buidéal?  Ní féidir liom a fháil an rud twisty as an barr an bhuidéil!

Now take your tickets, your proper Irish name, your useful phrases and go to the following events:

CASK NIGHT - Friday October 28th from 6:30pm until 10:30pm

Will bring in up to eight of BC's best craft breweries, for an evening of friendly competition comparing a variety of unique, one of a kind brews. With a warm and friendly Irish pub feel complete with food, music and games. More info: www.harrisonbeerfest.com/Cask-Night

HARRISON BEER FESTIVAL- Saturday October 29th from 1:00pm until 6:00pm

Armed with your complimentary tasting glass, compare a selection of awesome craft beers.  You will then vote to decide the winner of this year's Harrison Beer Festival.  Check out the website to see the list of Brewers or the list of beers they will be pouring.  More info: www.harrisonbeerfest.com/Harrison-Beer-Festival

OKTOBERFEST DANCE - Saturday October 29th from 8:00pm until 11:30pm

October and beer means Oktoberfest and tonight you will experience great music with the Beer Barrels, great beer & a great time. Come dressed to celebrate and the best male and female costumes will win a great prize. More info: www.harrisonbeerfest.com/Oktoberfest-Dance

By the end of the Harrison Beer Festival you will believe...say it with me now... I BELIEVE!

Bands on the Beach 2016

Free on the beach!

Saturday, September 3rd on the beach: 1pm - 6pm

Sunday, Sept. 4th on the beach: 1pm - 4:30pm

Tickets are now available for Sunday night "After-party" Memorial Hall: 7:30-midnight

Bring your lawn chairs and get ready to rock the end of summer with two days of great entertainment.  We are bringing you music like never before…everything from Bluegrass to Indie to New Country.

This year's free beach lineup:

Saturday 1:00pm - Nicole Sumerlyn - Country Rock

"...Nicole Sumerlyn is a country singer/songwriter from Abbotsford, BC.  She echoes the sounds of Gretchen Wilson, Shania Twain and Miranda Lambert.  Sumerlyn’s eclectic musical interests have created a unique blend of angelic  sweetness, with a root-sy, rock edge..."

Saturday 2:15pm - Jon Bos Band - Rock

"...Jon Bos Band is a world-class rock and roll outfit designed to make you groove.  With an amazing repertoire of songs, the band expertly reads the crowd and plays the perfect selection of songs, every time.   From familiar sing-along hits to danceable favorites, Jon Bos Band is tremendously entertaining..."

Saturday 3:30pm - Combine the Victorious - Pop Indie

"The albums, Disagreements and Crumbling Hearts saw the band refining their musical identity, distilling to a powerful, evocative essence, perfectly captured on the standout track from the Crumbling Hearts, Glasgow, where sumptuous guitars weave in and out of Mark's wily groove, a perfect backdrop for Isabelle's melancholy lyric and heart-breaking melody."

Saturday 5:00pm - Todd Richard - Country Rock

“Todd Richard is one of the most distinct, refreshing artists on the  country music scene today.  Born in Hamilton but raised in BC,   Todd’s rich vocals and unique style have fans sitting up and taking notice, and they’re loving what they hear.  With multiple BC Country Music Award nominations in the past seven years, Todd has been busy building his growing fan-base of TR  Rebels and "Frands"and shared the  stage with many of country music’s top acts, including Dwight Yoakum, Dierks Bentley, Gord Bamford and rock legend Randy Bachman.”  Todd’s ours and we love him!!

Sunday 1:00pm - Tianna - Folk Country

"...The saying “She’s not just a pretty face” is one of those phrases you  hear all the time; but never has it held more true than with country music  artist Tianna Woods! Not only a singer/songwriter, but a dancer, a multi-instrumentalist,  actor, and choreographer, Tianna crushes all stereo- types and barriers  with her impressive list of skills..."

Sunday 2:15pm - O'Hara Lane - Rock

“..O'Hara Lane is a cover band like no other.  They came together in 2012 and quickly established a reputation as the band that will take an audience all over the musical map, doing it with passion and style. They are the real musical deal, no tracks, no loops, just pure music.....With BIG vocals and a screaming band they bring energy and charisma to the stage every time!  Playing everything from rock, new wave ‘80s, current pop hits with some country tunes in between.  O’Hara Lane will entertain..."

Sunday 3:30pm - The Gords - Folk, Pop, Indie

“...Gord Maxwell, Gord Matthews and Gordon Lee Worden, gifted singer- songwriters who offer a truly remarkable rich sound and natural vocal harmony blend, with lusciously textured songs that remind listeners that  there is still a world of wonderful musical alternatives to dance remixes and rehashed top 40.”

Get your tickets while they last for Sunday Evening at the Memorial Hall, an After-Party not to be missed.  Join Todd on Sunday night for a special after-party at the Harrison Memorial Hall!  A concession offering beer, wine and snacks will be open. Tickets for the after-party are $20 and can be purchased online at our secured site www.tourismharrison.com.

Harrison Hot Springs Lakefront Car Show

Saturday August 13th the 4th Annual Lakefront Car Show

Come out and enjoy a day strolling through cars from all eras, with the backdrop of the beautiful village and lake of Harrison Hot Springs.

No registration fee! Registration opens at 8:00am at the Lakefront. No entrance fees. The car exhibit is open to the public from 10:00am until 4pm. Numerous door prizes! Trophies for Mayors choice, class winners and fan favourite! Dance to the live music of Rockwell Band! If you are interested in registering your car or interested in finding out more information about donating prizes or sponsorship opportunities please email info@tourismharrison.com or connect with us by phone at 604-796-5581.

Sasquatch Days

Saturday June 25th and Sunday June 26th   

The joint hosts for this year's event, Sts’ailes First Nations (Coast Salish People of the Stolo Nation) and the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, invite visitors to this unique event that brings two communities together in an opportunity to learn about the traditions of the Sts’ailes people and share cultural experiences.   This inter-cultural celebration includes canoe races,  traditional salmon barbeque, medicine walks, cultural boat tours, arts & craft activities, games, entertainment and most importantly talks on the Sasquatch from Sts’ailes experts and local Harrison Hot Springs Sasquatch investigators.

This year’s two-day event will begin at 9:00 am Saturday June 25th with a short procession to Harrison Lake Plaza where a welcoming ceremony will be held at 10:00.  Each day will feature artisan activity tables, medicine walks and opportunities for intercultural sharing.  Saturday morning the main event starts as war canoes gather for a friendly competition that will continue with final races on Sunday.  Of course, no canoe race is complete without a traditional salmon barbeque that will take place Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

Is Sasquatch Real?

Described as a bi-pedal mammal of exceptional size (sometimes reaching 14’) with great strength and reddish hair covering its entire body, the Sasquatch is legendary in Harrison Hot Springs and there have been many regional sightings. The word Sasquatch is thought to be a mispronunciation of the Sts’ailes First Nations word ‘Sasq’ets’, meaning ‘hairy man’. For centuries, the Sasquatch has occupied a unique niche in the oral traditions of the First Nations communities of Harrison Lake and Harrison River. The Sts’ailes believe the Sasquatch is a spiritual being that can vanish into the spirit realm at will, which may explain why the elusive being is so difficult to track down.

It is interesting to note that people will rarely begin a conversation by stating their personal beliefs but will instead inquire “So, do you believe Sasquatch are real?” 

Look over a map of the vast wilderness surrounding Harrison Lake.  It is difficult to imagine the sheer expanse, the thousands of square kilometers of forest and mountain.  The majority of us, if we go hiking or camping, tend to limit our movement to an area that is defined by the distance to our entrance or egress point.  If we were to play hide and seek in the woods, we would have no difficulty in not being seen or found even in a very small area.  Likewise, we have no doubt that these woods are home to grizzly, cougar, deer, mountain goats, big horn sheep, moose and even wild boar…all of these amazing creatures exist and yet are rarely seen.  

Perhaps we only disbelieve the idea of Sasquatch because we cannot conceive of a being with human characteristics who would not need, or seek out, human comforts.  But then that type of thought process is only an indication of how limited we are in our thinking and does not take into account how resourceful a Sasquatch would have to be to exist without any of what we call “Creature comforts”,  those material things or luxuries that help to provide for one's bodily comfort.
www.tourismharrison.com/Sasquatch-Days