Submitted by Catherine Henderson, Rotary Club of Northern Bruce Peninsula
Oktoberfest 2026 kicked off with Mayor Milt McIver and local Brewmaster Christian von der Heide arriving on a mule drawn wagon, owned by Cedric and Ashley Scott, for the traditional opening ceremony of tapping the cask. Guests enjoyed sunshine and a selection of beverages, including our specially brewed Oktoberfest beer with delicious Oktoberfest sausages and pretzels in the beer garden.
The sold-out evening event, with live band Grey Road 1, included much dancing and the popular stein holding contests. This year’s winners: Jill Davidson took the Women’s title and Andrew Nearingburg the Men’s. Congratulations to both our 2026 champions! And thanks to everyone who participated – it was a lot of fun.
Photo L-R: Brewmaster Christian von der Heide with winner of the Women’s Stein Holding Contest Jill Davidson.
Photo L-R: Brewmaster Christian von der Heide with winner of the Men’s Stein Holding Contest Andrew Nearingburg.
A huge thank you to all of our Rotary members and Friends of Rotary for your many hours of work to make this community event possible. It gets better every year!
A special thanks to our community sponsors for helping make the Lion’s Head Oktoberfest a great event – T&P Hayes Investments, EPH Tools & Machining, Hellyer’s Foodland, Wilson Home Building Centre, Summer House Park and Tobermory Press. Your support is greatly appreciated.
And the biggest thank you to our partner, Master Brewer Christian von der Heide and Tagwerk Bier, who brings all the fun and flavour to this event – it would not be Oktoberfest without Christian and Tagwerk!
Full House for All Candidates Meeting
Rotary of NBP and BPEG (Bruce Peninsula Environment Group) hosted an All Candidates meeting at the Rotary Hall on September 29. It was a full house and there was much interest in hearing what our candidates had to say. The event was recorded and livestreamed. You can view the recording on BPEG’s YouTube channel (search Bruce Peninsula Environment Group on YouTube). Thanks to all candidates who were able to attend and to John Rodgers for doing a fantastic job as moderator.
Community Cafe Finished for Season
During August and September, Rotary hosted a Community Cafe in support of the Golden Dawn Senior Citizen Home. Three mornings a week, volunteers from three groups made coffee and baked goods and opened the Rotary Hall to provide a space to gather and socialize. Many conversations took place on the new patio and donations were collected. A report on the proceeds will be sent out soon.
The cafe is finished for this year and we are grateful to our volunteers from Rotary, Lion’s Head Hospital Auxiliary and Golden Dawn Board members for their contributions. It was a lot of fun for a great cause.
Upcoming Events at Rotary Hall
Rotary is hosting a music concert with Whitehorse singer-songwriter Kim Beggs on Friday, October 16 at the Rotary Hall in Lion’s Head. Look for posters around the town! Tickets are $20 and you can reserve one by emailing lionshead.tickets@gmail.com
Another Rotary music event is coming up on Friday, October 30 at the Rotary Hall with Los Infernales, a great local group. More info on this event in the next issue!
Save the date! On Thursday, November 5, the Rotary Club of NBP will once again partner with other local service clubs to hold a Chili Cook-Off at the Rotary Hall to raise funds for the 2027 Bruce Peninsula District School school trip. We are excited to support our students with this event and look forward to seeing you there! Watch for details.
