Beer Fest, Seaway Food Festival folds

In this June 2017, file photo, two beer tents in Lamoureux Park during Summer Beer Fest are cordoned off after a water main break. The festival's organizer has announced that Summer Beer Fest and two related foodie events will no longer be taking place. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston, File)

CORNWALL – A summer beer festival and two associated foodie events have folded.

Sebastien Manigat, director of the Seaway Food Festival, announced the decision Friday on the event’s Facebook page.

“Is is with a heavy heart that I announce today that Seaway Food Festival, and its related events, will be ceasing its operation as I move on to pursue new opportunities,” the statement read in part.

The decision affects the Seaway Food Festival, Summer Beer Fest and Cornwall Restaurant Week.

Manigat said there was “no singular event” that led to the end of the festival, though the announcement comes six weeks after the city’s budget committee didn’t approve $20,000 in funding and in-kind services of $5,050.

He said the “realities of our circumstances” did not allow the festival to continue and that he had been spending “months exploring different ways in which we could continue.”

The festival started in 2014 to “bring the community together to indulge in the area’s finest culinary experiences,” he wrote.

Manigat also took the opportunity to thank the restaurants, breweries, vendors, partners and “Seaway Foodies” for making the events a success during their run.