Happening this weekend (July 13th-16th), the 2012 Prairie Coffee Show in Calgary, Alberta. Sponsors include Fratello Coffee Roasters, Transcend Coffee, and Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters, along with Espresso Parts, Able Brewing, and many others. The crown jewel of this event is surely the Prairie Regional Barista Competition, which happens live on Saturday, July 14th starting at 8:30 AM. Last year’s Prairie Regional winner was Josh Hockin Ben Put, with third place going to eventual Canandian national champion Josh Hockin.
The weekend is rounded out by opening parties, food truck round ups, an industry forum hosted by Stephen Leighton, barista workshops hosted by Mr. Hockin and Rob Kettner (2010 Canadian Barista champ), and “Brent Fortune’s Coffee Common Experience”, a branded Coffee Common demonstration in miniature run entirely by Brent, but lacking any attendant blog coverage or a full assembly of the CC Board horror-Voltron.
Suffice it to say, this sounds like a super fun weekend, and serves as a reminder that the international barista competition cycle provides no rest for the weary. Good luck to all competitors, and read more about the 2012 PRBC here via The Prairie Coffee Project.
