I admit, much of what I know about liquor, I learned from country music. Consider these sound bites for instance:

“Tequila makes her clothes fall off.”

“Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses.”

“After ten rounds with Jose Cuervo, I lost count and started counting again.”

“You had some of the best times, you’ll never remember with me – alcohol.”

More than any other, it seems that country musicians like to sing about drinking, and with this in mind Merritt appears to be lobbying for the title of Country Music Capital on both the music front and the bar front.

In a regular council meeting on June 14, Councillor Nadia Clark voiced concern on the issue of drinking in the downtown area as council considered an application from the Coldwater Hotel for a temporary extension of their liquor license for a beer garden to be extended onto their lot from July 7 to 18, coinciding with Mountainfest and the Bike Rally.

“We already have a problem with alcohol in the downtown area,” she said. “We already have five establishments downtown and I don’t support this.”

Based on the fact that a similar request from the Grand had already been granted, the rest of council approved the Coldwater’s request, arguing that the area would be fenced off and that the large numbers of people at the festival would aid businesses in the community including the bars.

Her concerns were for the most part brushed off, but silently from the media table I agreed with Clarke and applauded her for speaking up.

Merritt’s country music festival has already earned the reputation of being a booze-fueled party – should this really be extended to the downtown core as well?

I’m not suggesting that every person who chooses to drink a beer during any of our July events will become absolutely sloshed and start a riot. And given the circumstances there wasn’t much choice but to grant the Coldwater’s license as well. I guess it’s the fact that all the emphasis on liquor sales doesn’t give the impression that these are family friendly events that I take issue with.

We want people to come to Merritt, but surely there are other ways to accomplish this than by dangling a beer in front of their faces. Let’s promise fun times people will remember, rather than fun times they won’t.