Over 4,200 residents and out-of-town visitors flocked to Two Rivers Stadium for the sixth annual Paris Drinks Fest on Friday, August 15 and Saturday, August 16, 2025.
Hosted by Noisemaker Presents, the two-day event showcased over 35 craft breweries, wineries, distilleries and local food vendors throughout the grounds.
This year’s event not only featured several businesses from all over southern Ontario, but local establishments like Sassy Britches Brewery, Paris Beer Co., the Arlington Hotel, Willibald Farm Distillery & Brewery, Howell Road Cider Co., the Waffle Pop Shop, and the Paris Lions Club as well.
With complementary stainless steel cups in hand, visitors sampled the many beverage options that the vendors had to offer. From seltzers to wine, spirits, beers and ciders, there were plenty of opportunities to indulge in classic favourites or to try something new.
For those looking to satisfy their taste buds, guests also took advantage of the many food options on site such as waffles on a stick, poutine, chicken tenders, tacos, authentic Indian bites and much more.
As far as entertainment goes, the Absolute Losers kicked off Friday’s line-up, and were followed up by Trash Panda Brass. The Canadian entertainment continued on into the night as Hamilton-based band, Born in the Eighties, got the crowd up on their feet and ready for the evening’s headliner, the Sam Roberts Band.
On Saturday, Altameda, SHEBAD, The Wild High, and Shania Twink took turns entertaining the crowd before headliner Matt Mays ended out the weekend.
Brantford-Brant residents, Addi Pump and Laura-Lee Marshall, said it was their fourth and first time attending the event and that they were enjoying the experience.
“I’m loving it so far, it’s a great set up,” said Marshall. “I like that all the drink vendors are near the stage so you don’t have to go too far and miss the music or anything like that.”
When asked if there was a particular band they were looking forward to, Pump said that she was excited to see the Sam Roberts Band.
“Born in the Eighties was great though! They were really interesting,” both women agreed.
Pump also said she always enjoys attending the event, not just because she gets to try new things because of what it does for the community of Paris.
“It’s great being able to try the different drinks and I like that you get to discover more local brands,” said Pump. “I also think it’s great that it brings younger people here and it kind of gives them a taste of Paris and what we have here. I think we need more events like this here.”
From the vendor side of the event, Jen Howell, owner of Howell Road Cider Co., said she was happy to be returning to Paris Drinks Fest.
“We’ve been here every year and we always have a good time. Because we’re so local, we don’t do a ton of festivals because we’re obviously busy at the farm, so this is one of the only big events we do,” she said. “It’s nice being one of the local vendors here because we get to see and meet so many customers. Sometimes they’ve never heard of us and we get to share that we’re actually located ten minutes down the road, so they get to learn more about us and then we get the customers we get all the time so it’s fun to see them in a social atmosphere. It’s just a really great way for us to connect with everyone.”
Tim Des Islets, founder of the Paris Drinks Fest, said that after hosting over 2,500 people on Friday night and over 1,700 people on Saturday night, he and his team were happy to have pulled off another great event.
“We are thrilled with the results of our sixth annual Paris Drinks Fest! We had record attendance for both nights, more vendors than previous years, and two perfect days of weather,” he said in an email to the Brant Beacon. “We loved engaging with attendees and watching people enjoy the drinks, food, and music. We are excited to do it again in 2026 and have already started making plans!”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
