Beer Barter is new Winter Carnival event

There's a new event at the Whitefish Winter Carnival on Saturday and it involves free beer. Need we say more?

With true carnival spirit and a penchant for a great party, Great Northern Brewing Co. in Whitefish will play host to the Black Star Beer Barter, a competition that will allow contestants to offer over-the-top, outrageous barter proposals in exchange for the grand prize - 52 cases (a year's supply if you drink a case a week) of Black Star Beer. That's 1,248 bottles of beers on the wall.

Black Star is asking fans to get creative in answering the question: What would you do or trade for a year's supply of the double-hopped golden lager?

"It's a really fun concept," Black Star spokeswoman Ashley Garver said, "and is in line with the weekend's festivities."

To participate, contestants must show up with their barter submission at the Great Northern Brewing Co. on Central Avenue at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The barter competition begins at 1 p.m. and is expected to wrap up just prior to the grand parade at 3 p.m.

Contestants will be given an entry number and will be asked to present their barter entry to a panel of judges that includes Great Northern Brewing General Manager Marcus Duffey, local entertainer John Dunnigan and Viking Divas Bee Bickel and Renee Olson. The judges will rank all barter submissions based on creativity, awesomeness, thoughtfulness and enthusiasm.

Each participant gets a goodie bag, Garver said.

Emcees for the beer barter will be Whitefish Mountain Resort public relations spokesman Donnie Clapp and ski racing coach Zak Anderson.

If all this barter business is sounding vaguely familiar, it's because Black Star sponsored a similar event in Whitefish 11 years ago on a smaller scale.

Minott Wessinger, founder of Black Star, said he's excited to be bringing back the Beer Barter to Whitefish.

"We hosted the event in the year 2000 and it was a huge hit with the community," Minott said in a prepared statement. "We hope to see and welcome many off-the-wall entries."

A definition for "off-the-wall" is yet to be determined.

Barter submissions could include anything from juggling lessons to a decorated hog. Garver's examples of over-the top include a giant burrito, giving up your favorite food for a year, painting your house pink or performing a choreographed dance to one of Beyonce's new songs.

"What we are hoping to have happen is the participant dictates who or what they're offering," Garver said. "For example: 'I will give the head brewer at Great Northern Brewing Co. a massage a week for a year in exchange for a year's supply of beer.' Or, 'I will decal my car with the Black Star logo for a year's supply of beer.'"

If the barter item is of value, Black Star will make the donation to the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation. If the winning barter submission is something the individual created, such as a statue of Minott Wessinger out of beer cans, Black Star would want to find a place to keep it, most likely at the brewery.

A beer garden will be set up in front of the Great Northern brewery, and beer also will be sold from a Black Star truck parked in the Markus Foods lot. Garver said the event will be "heavily managed" and IDs will be checked by security workers.

More information about the Black Star Beer Barter is available online at http://blackstarbeer.com.

The Whitefish Winter Carnival culminates a month-long celebration this weekend.

Among the crowd favorites on Saturday are the Kiddie Carnival at Whitefish Middle School gymnasium, the Penguin Plunge at City Beach, parade through downtown and the yeti Snowskate Jam at Kiddie Park.

A complete schedule of events is available online at www.whitefishwintercarnival.com.