Tourney-goers drink up OSAID alternative

Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving (OSAID) could raise their drinks–non-alcoholic, of course–to a job well done.
The group was responsible for the mocktail bar, a bar that served non-alcoholic drinks a few booths down from the regular bar, with much success, at last weekend’s Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship.
“(It went) very well. Extremely well,” organizer Madonna Ring enthused. “We cleared over $1,000.” proceeds will go towards sending members to an annual conference in Yellowknife, NWT next spring.
The booth was manned by volunteers, and donations from community businesses helped take care of some of the greater expenses (like ingredients, a fridge, a blender and so on).
But with materials to make poster, cups, straws and other supplies, it seemed like a costly venture at first, and the group was hoping just to break even.
OSAID was also helped out by SAP–the district Substance Abuse Prevention team–who donated an adult advisor and paid half the group’s bills.
This was the first time a mocktail bar’s been set up at the tournament. Ring said the group would “definitely” consider setting one up again next year.
“We might try adding another drink,” she noted.
This year, the mocktail bar served Shirley Temples, strawberry daquiris, pina coladas, bloody shames (similar to a bloody Caesar), and a “bass buster”–a special punch made especially for the tournament–to about 600 people.
But the most popular drink was the daquiri. “We made $700 on it alone,” mentioned Ring.
The bar was open Wednesday to Saturday, the most popular night being the first, when the Much Music Teen Dance took place.
While it was quieter afterwards, word of the tasty mocktails spread.
“More and more people were hearing about it,” Ring explained. “The numbers rose by 20 or 30 people a night.”
The idea originated at a conference four local OSAID members attended earlier this year. After this bar’s success, Ring said they’d consider setting one up at other community events.
“It depends on how we think it will go over,” she said.