Following fight-filled event Kelowna distillery plans next Sanitizer Saturday and Sunday

After a fistfight put an early end to the first Sanitizer Saturday and Sunday, Kelowna's Forbidden Spirits Distillery is ready to try again. 

The distillery will be issuing a maximum of 300 online tickets through its online store for hand sanitizer. These tickets must be redeemed between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on April 18 and 19.

If you do not have a valid online ticket, you are unable to receive sanitizer at the distillery. No walk-ups will be allowed.

Each ticket costs $5 and 100 per cent of the proceeds will go to the Kelowna Food Bank.

"We will also accept non-perishable food items to be donated to the Kelowna Food Bank," the company said. "The tickets have no cash value. Regardless of size, we will limit distribution to one litre per person and/or car, while supplies last."

The first sanitizer sharing event was cut short when people who lined up for the free product broke into fistfights.

"We were so busy, and sadly a few people made it so that it got cancelled by the RCMP because they were literally fighting in the streets, getting out of their cars and fighting,” Suzanne Jones, executive assistant at Forbidden Spirits, said earlier in the week.

Traffic had lined up along the road farther than staff members could see for the event that would have seen locals get some much-coveted hand sanitizer, and some had arrived at two hours before the event was set to begin.

Between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., staff members saw more than 300 cars, many with more than one occupant, said Jones.


To contact a reporter for this story, email Kathy Michaels or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community? Create a free account to comment on stories, ask questions, and join meaningful discussions on our new site.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.
Kathy Michaels

Kathy Michaels has been an Okanagan-based journalist for more than a decade, working for community papers along the valley and beyond.
She’s won provincial and national awards in business, news and feature writing and says that her love for telling a good story rivals only her fondness for turning a good phrase.
If you have a story that deserves to be told in a thoughtful and compassionate manner, don’t hesitate to reach out.
To reach Kathy call 250-718-0428 or email kmichaels@infonews.ca.