Our visit to the Coleman Hotel was pre-arranged. Chris had put the word out on social media, as well as in a press release. The local radio station in Kindersley contacted us and was running ads about our visit. A number of people that were in attendance told us that they had heard about the event on the radio. Jenny, the news reporter for the station, and the two morning DJ's were in attendance at the tavern and we had a couple of beers with them.
Owner Greg was a gracious host and gave us a complete tour of the hotel. He even picked up the tab for our beers and their signature roast beef sandwich, and refused to let us pay. We generally avoid this at all costs, as we don't want to get a reputation as a bunch of freeloaders looking for a meal ticket. We would rather pay our way, but in this instance that was simply not allowed. We very much appreciate the hospitality.
The hotel was very well attended and there were lots of interesting people around. We interviewed and photographed many of them. Once I get a chance to unload and process all of the film that I shot, some of those portraits will make it here onto my blog.
Greg installed a high tech golf simulator in a section of the hotel. He is thrilled that it has paid for itself relatively quickly and says it is a popular local attraction, particularly over the winter months. We all gave it a try and could see that it would be a lot of fun, and good for the beverage business, during the offseason when the golf courses are closed.
We even got a tour of the basement. I must say that it was not as creepy and dirty as some of the ones we have seen. Check out how worn those stairs are going down...! The old wartime gas mask and pool rest covered with cobwebs were down in the basement.
It was a really fun evening and we really enjoyed our visit. Towards the end, we had already packed up our gear and were about to start saying our goodbyes. But then two local guys burst upon the scene, so we just had to dig out the cameras again, for one final portrait. One of the guys resembled Sam Elliott and the other Clint Eastwood... just like out of an old western...!
It is our hope that the Beer Parlour Project runs long enough for us to tour at least 100 hotels. With these two recent outings in Saskatchewan, we are now one quarter of the way there, and showing no signs of slowing down.
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