Okotoks brewery holding a fundraiser for the Beet family

A local brewery is holding a fundraiser for an Okotoks family on Saturday.

In 2022, four-year-old Stella and 22-month-old Max were diagnosed with Morquio Syndrome, a genetic disorder estimated to affect one in 300,000 children.

Parents Brittny and Aubrey Beet set out to learn all they could about the condition and the treatments available, eventually arranging for stem cell treatments for the children, who will be the first patients to receive this treatment for Morquio Syndrome in Canada.

Along the way, Brittny and Aubrey have had to deal with travel and medical expenses, but they’ve been seeing support from the community as their story spread.

After hearing the Beet family’s story, co-owner of Big Beaver Brewing, Michael Hiltz, knew he wanted to lend a hand.

“I have three young daughters, five, three, and about nine months old. No parents want to want that, so as soon as I heard about it, I just asked our event coordinator, I said ‘Let’s reach out to this family and see if we can do something for them.’”

The brewery reached out to a few local businesses and musical acts to set up a fundraiser.

“We’re going to have live music, we have three different acts playing, headlined by Hey Jack, and we have a silent auction going on. Also that day, part of the proceeds from the day will go toward the Beet family as well.”

The “Hope for the Beets” fundraiser is scheduled for Saturday, June 22, at 6 p.m.