The Berwyn Historic Depot District Special Events Committee is celebrating its ninth annual Oktoberfest on Friday, September 11 (6-11 pm) and Saturday, September 12, 2009 (Noon-11 pm). This two-day event will take place on Windsor and Stanley Avenues, between Home and Oak Park Avenues and will include live performances, children's amusement rides and entertainment, crafters, and food vendors. New this year, the festival will also feature Dog-toberfest, a dog-friendly entertainment area. Admission is free.

Oktoberfest, one of Berwyn's premier events, is a weekend celebration filled with music, family entertainment, raffles, an assortment of foods and, of course, beer. Berwyn's Oktoberfest has steadily grown for nearly a decade and expects to attract over 10,000 attendees from the Chicagoland area. "Oktoberfest showcases the best of our community. We love Berwyn and the Depot District. This festival is an opportunity for our residents to come together, relax, and celebrate and for newcomers to share in our community pride. We embrace all of the flavors of our community and try to provide something to appeal to everyone. Our committee is dedicated to events such as Oktoberfest that are integral to our local support network," said Alderman Nona Chapman, one of the lead organizers of the event.

The Historic Depot District Special Events Committee guarantees a family-friendly community atmosphere with something for everybody, even the family dog. The main stage will feature musical acts R-Gang and Five Guys Named Moe on Friday and Infinity, Hurricane Gumbo, Lights Out, and the winner of Berwyn Park District's Battle of the Bands on Saturday. From 7-9 pm on Friday, Leah, the Loop Rock Girl, will also make an appearance at the event. Too Loud Polka Band will provide entertainment in the tent on Saturday afternoon.

The family pavilion welcomes the Chicago Fire and their interactive soccer wall. Other featured activities include a carnival, pony rides, a magician, musical entertainment from The Boogers Band, and the Pav YMCA Kid's Contest. What's more, just across Grove Avenue, The Urban Mutt crew will launch the newly conceived Dog-toberfest. The area will offer a "Doggie Lounge" where the family pup can play under the sprinklers, get a bath, and snack on Pupizzas & Doggie Brew! There will also be vendors, a pet psychic, a caricature artist, and a MiniToss(TM) Tournament for humans.

Additional information on Oktoberfest in Berwyn, IL can be obtained through the Berwyn Development Corporation at (708) 788-8100 or at www.BerwynOktoberfest.com. Additional information on Dog-toberfest can be obtained at www.Dog-toberfest.com.

The Berwyn Historic Depot District Special Events Committee is a committee of the BERWYN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (BDC). The BDC is a public-private partnership with the City of Berwyn that provides economic development and Chamber of Commerce services to all segments of the Berwyn community. The BDC focuses its efforts on those activities that will improve the overall climate for local businesses and residents, in addition to encouraging the development of new commercial venues and employment opportunities. The BDC continually strives to develop new programs, services and events that promote Berwyn businesses and the community.

Beer sales across West Europe fell by more than 4% in the first half of 2009 - the equivalent of 580 million litres, or more than a billion less UK pints of beer - according to leading beverage research agency Canadean's Quarterly Beverage Tracker. Alcoholic drinks, as a whole have not fared much better, while soft and dairy drinks have slipped by around 1%, hot drinks have registered a very small rise and overall commercial beverage consumption has declined by a little over 1%. (NB: The fact that the comparable period included an extra day because of the leap year in 2008 will have had a marginally negative effect on the results.)

Beer sales have been hit hard as consumers across the region tighten their purse strings by shunning bars, pubs and restaurants. 'Cocooning' a term not used since the downturn of the early 1990's has been resurrected to describe the trend for drinkers to stay at home to entertain family and friends rather than eat out or go to a bar to socialise. In some markets smoking bans and increased duty have contributed to amplify the level of abstinence. Nowhere is this best illustrated than the Netherlands where an excise duty increase and a smoking ban in cafes has triggered a considerable 9% decline in beer sales in the first half of 2009.

In contrast soft drinks volumes have held up relatively well. Like beer, the recession has impacted on sales in the Horeca channel but much of this volume has shifted to the supermarkets. Beer in particular has been unable to capitalise on any switch from on to off premise; people drink less beer when they do not go out so regularly. It is this factor that is believed to have helped the hot drink category to edge forward as people stay at home and drink tea and coffee instead. Hot drinks are also a very economical form of refreshment and have often fared well during tough financial periods.

Soft drinks volume may be holding up but this is not the case in value terms as consumers shrink their household budgets. Canadean consultants on the ground report that private label is outperforming branded products in every market with the exception of Belgium, Finland, Sweden and Greece. Hard discounters are flourishing and are broadening their net across the region; even the Canary Islands are poised to see the opening of a hard discount outlet.

The third quarter is the most influential on commercial beverage sales and the performance in July, August and September will dictate the overall performance of the year. Hot temperatures in July and August or an Indian summer in September could make the volume performance more respectable. Canadean analysts anticipate a marginal improvement in the volume performance of the commercial beverage market as the comparable period; the second half of 2008 saw the eye of the financial storm. Beer sales are predicted to end the year 3% down, while soft drinks should finish the year only slightly down. Overall the decline in beverage consumption will fall to well below 1%.

Editor's Note:

To view graph accompanying this press release and representing % change in consumption of key beverage categories in West Europe for the first half of 2009, please see: http://www.canadean.com/Default.aspx?TabId=190&section=Press_Releases&newsId= 1121&cat=1&title=West_European_Beer_Sales_in_the_First_Half_of_2009

(Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove the space if one exists.)

Canadean is the beverage industry information specialist, providing market research, reports, databases and consulting on the global beverage and beverage packaging industries.

With headquarters in the UK but with offices around the world, Canadean has built a reputation as the benchmark for global beverage market intelligence. Local operations are now based in Madrid, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Sydney.

Issued by the Corporate Marketing Department of Canadean Ltd, the leading global beverage research company.

For further details on Canadean's Quarterly Beverage Tracker, please contact Debra Richards on tel: +44-(0)12560394224.

    Canadean Ltd
    12 Faraday Court
    Rankine Road
    Basingstoke
    RG24 8PF
    England
    Tel: +44-(0)1256-394210
    Fax: +44-(0)1256-394201
    Email: sales@canadean.com

    Website:http://www.canadean.com

Preparing for the return of college students over the coming weeks, the Fairfax County Police, Premium Distributors of VA, Heineken USA, and state delegates are teaming up to offer Fairfax County restaurants and bars another tool in the fight against underage access to alcohol.

The community partnership provides licensed retailers with a "Responsibility Toolkit" including a small device to assist in the process of checking proper patron identification and a poster that reminds both those serving alcohol as well as customers that the retailers check IDs. This is a combined effort with law enforcement to both 'Serve & Protect' the community.

"This program fits perfectly with our Alcohol Awareness & Education programs within Fairfax County as it engages a number of different perspectives toward one common goal - preventing underage drinking," said Captain Susan Culin, Commander of the Traffic Division, Fairfax County Police Department.

Beginning this week, officers will be distributing the toolkit to retailers in targeted areas and intend to distribute the device widely through the County throughout the month.

Local beer distributor, Premium Distributors of Virginia brings a family and business perspective to the project. "We are committed and proud to contribute toward the betterment of the community in which we live and do business and have served for years. We take seriously our role in marketing and selling beer responsibly. This program is a natural fit with retailer, brewer and community relationships," said, John Zeltner, President Premium Distributors of Virginia. Premium VA drivers and sales persons will reinforce the message with retailers on their sales calls throughout the month.

The welfare of Virginians is a top priority for Virginia legislators. A number of Virginia state representatives were at the forefront of building this program including; Delegates David L. Bulova, Chuck Caputo, Speaker of the House Bill Howell and Senator Mark Herring who helped guide the initiative and continue to support the message and outreach.

This initiative is being supported by brewer Heineken USA. "Heineken USA prides itself on being a responsible corporate and community citizen," said, Dan Tearno, Chief Corporate Relations Officer for Heineken USA. "This program is a tangible demonstration of our dedication to the communities where we live and work and our commitment to help eliminate underage access to alcohol."

To see the elements of this program, please visit http://www.premiumdistributorsofva.com/home.html

About Premium Distributors of Virginia

Premium Distributors of Virginia is committed to good corporate citizenship while achieving unmatched value for its Northern Virginia customers. Premium Distributors of Virginia is part of Reyes Beverage Group, the beer distribution division of Reyes Holdings, LLC., for more information please visit the company website at www.premiumdistributorsofva.com

About Heineken USA

Heineken USA Inc., the nation's premier beer importer, is a subsidiary of Heineken International BV, which is the world's most international brewer. Brands imported into the U.S. include: Heineken Lager, the world's most international beer brand; Heineken Light; Amstel Light, a leading imported light beer brand; Newcastle Brown Ale, the leading imported ale in the United States; and Buckler non-alcoholic brew. Heineken USA is also the exclusive USA importer for the Tecate, Tecate Light, Dos Equis, Sol, Carta Blanca and Bohemia brands from FEMSA Cerveza of Mexico. Please visit www.EnjoyHeinekenResponsibly.com.