Little Kids in the Beer Garden? This WA City Wants That to Happen

The cool thing about going to a beer garden is that there are no kids allowed in it. You have to be over 21 years old to get in. A major city in Washington state wants to change that.

This idea of a family-friendly beer garden at events is not far-fetched for Washington state, after all, we have tons of breweries, wineries, and cideries that are family-friendly.

When I was a younger single parent at big local events, for instance, I recall staring longingly at the beer gardens. I knew I couldn’t sip on a tasty hoppy beverage because my “event companion” was still learning her ABC’s.

I remember what it was like to be kid-free and hanging out with my friends in beer gardens. It's not like there's a check-in booth for your kids while you go grab a beer or hard cider in the beer garden (although that might be a great idea mixed in somewhere).

I learned years ago to make peace with not getting to go to any more beer gardens for the next few years until my kid got old enough to go hang out with her friends because I was no longer considered "cool." Besides, I knew that I could just pour my own adult drink at home after my child went to bed.

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN SPOKANE'S PROPOSED LAW TO LET KIDS INSIDE BEER GARDENS?

A couple of council members in the city of Spokane are proposing a change to the local laws that will allow parents to bring their young ones in tow when they attend certain big local events.

I’m not heartless; I totally get the sentiment behind this desired law change. I have no problem with kids in a family-friendly beer garden, unless they are those creepy Grady sisters like in the movie, The Shining!

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Persons under 21 years of age would be allowed inside beer gardens provided they are accompanied by someone over 21. This would not be applicable to city parks or private property. The beer garden event would have to be hosted by a nonprofit, not a private or public business.

The proposed Spokane law would also grant events (hosted by nonprofits on public properties like closed off streets) to have more than one beer garden.

This could allow for one family-friendly beer garden and one 21+ beer garden to be on site, which is currently regulated to an event allowed to have only ONE beer garden total.

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It would likely be cool for this law to pass and to spread to other cities here so that other single parents won’t have to longingly stare at the beer gardens, too!

We’ll have to see what the Spokane City Council decides when they vote on January 29th.

Source: Emry Dinman via Spokesman.com