Beer lovers get a festival all their own in Thunder Bay this weekend

Superior Morning7:51Brew Ha - Craft Beer Festival

It's the first of it's kind in Thunder Bay, and Kerry Berlinquette is busy with the last minute details.Thirsty beer lovers will be lining up at Thunder Bay's Prince Arthur's Landing this weekend.

The first ever "Brew Ha" Craft Beer Festival kicks off this Friday.

The two-day festival will feature 13 craft breweries from around Ontario, including Kenora's Lake of the Woods Brewery, Thunder Bay's Sleeping Giant Brewery and Sudbury's Stack Brewing Co.

Festival organizer Kerry Berlinquette said because this will be the city's first beer festival, organizers are taking extra precautions to ensure the safety of participants.

"We are taking it very, very seriously that we need to make sure this is a very controlled event," she said.

"[We want] to make sure that everybody is good and safe and that it is a very clean event."

Berlinquette said she hopes the event will provide a boost to the downtown economy as well.

"This event was never meant to be a drink fest," she continued.

"It's meant to be an educational event."

Ideally people will "come and try the beer with us, but then we want to drive that economic business downtown and have the day go on and on."

Each brewery has been teamed up with a waterfront district bar so people can buy their beers outside the festival.