A summer festival built around local food, drinks, music and community spirit is now helping make a difference in healthcare across the region.
The Blanche River Health Foundation is celebrating a $13,000 donation from the 2026 North on Tap Craft Beer Festival, with the money going toward new medical equipment for the Blanche River Health site in Englehart.
The funding will help purchase two cardiac monitors and a channel electrotherapy unit, giving healthcare teams additional tools to care for patients in the emergency and physiotherapy departments.
For the foundation, the donation is a great example of what can happen when local organizations and residents come together.
“This is exactly what community partnership looks like,” said Mary Ann Mavrinac, a member of the Blanche River Health Foundation board. She noted that the North on Tap festival raised a record $101,000 this year for organizations across the region.
“We are thrilled to be among the recipients and incredibly grateful for this investment in patient care,” she said.
New Equipment, Better Care
The new cardiac monitors will allow healthcare professionals to keep a close eye on patients’ heart rates, vital signs and oxygen levels. This can be especially important during emergency situations and medical procedures that require sedation, when patients need to be monitored carefully.
The electrotherapy unit will be used by physiotherapy teams to provide targeted electrical stimulation. The treatment can help manage pain, encourage healing and support muscle recovery for patients receiving rehabilitation.
Sherry L’Heureux, Blanche River Health’s Manager of Patient Care Services at the Englehart site, said the equipment will make an immediate difference for staff and patients.
“These are important tools that allow our teams to assess, monitor and treat patients safely and effectively,” she said.
For a rural hospital, reliable monitoring equipment is particularly valuable. Patients sometimes need to be stabilized locally while arrangements are being made to transfer them to another facility, which can involve considerable travel distances.
The new physiotherapy equipment will also mean more patients can access rehabilitation and pain-management services closer to home rather than travelling farther for care.
A Festival That Gives Back
The Blanche River Health Foundation was one of five organizations to receive a share of the $101,000 raised during this year’s North on Tap festival.
The other recipients were:
- AC15: $53,000 for its community pump track project
- Blanche River Health Foundation: $13,000 for medical and therapeutic equipment
- New Liskeard Special Olympics: $5,000 for sports equipment
- Temiskaming Shores Scout Group: $15,000 for canoes and related equipment
- Temiskaming Nordic Ski Club: $15,000 toward a side-by-side utility vehicle for trail grooming
With this year’s donations included, North on Tap has now given more than $626,600 to local organizations and community projects since the festival began.
Danielle Bélanger-Corbin, a North on Tap spokesperson and board member, said organizers are proud to see the event continue growing while giving back to the community.
“We are so pleased to see our proceeds reach a new record this year,” she said, adding that the festival has become a popular local event while also supporting causes that directly benefit residents.
Volunteers Make It Possible
The success of North on Tap isn’t just about the festival organizers. Dozens of local volunteers help make the event happen every year.
This year, 43 Blanche River Health Foundation and Blanche River Health team members volunteered at the festival, helping with everything from serving beverages to providing security around the grounds.
Mavrinac said the volunteers played a major role in making the event such a success.
“Our volunteers showed up in a big way, and we could not be prouder of them,” she said, while also thanking the North on Tap committee, sponsors, community partners, festivalgoers and the many other volunteers who contributed their time.
Looking Ahead to 2027
The community can already mark its calendar for the next edition. The ninth North on Tap Craft Beer Festival is scheduled for Saturday, July 10, 2027, on the shores of Lake Temiskaming in Haileybury, part of Temiskaming Shores.
The annual festival features Ontario craft breweries, wine and cocktails, along with regional food, live entertainment and a beer-inspired golf tournament. The organizers also host an alcohol-free Family Fun evening on the Friday before the main festival, giving families another way to enjoy the event.
Supporting Healthcare Close to Home
For Blanche River Health, donations like this one are about more than buying equipment. They are about giving local healthcare teams the resources they need to provide safe, effective care without patients always having to travel long distances.
The Blanche River Health Foundation raises money for equipment and capital projects at the organization’s hospitals in Englehart and Kirkland Lake. With government funding covering only part of the cost of modern healthcare equipment and improvements, community fundraising remains an important part of keeping local healthcare services strong.
The $13,000 from North on Tap is another example of how a community event can have an impact long after the music stops and the festival grounds are cleared – turning a weekend of celebration into better healthcare for people across the region.
