Become a 2021 Food or Alcohol Vendor

• What is Swirl & Twirl?

  • a social fundraising evening for queer non-profit charities in the National Capital Region featuring:
    • wine-, beer- and food-tasting
    • entertainment
    • a silent auction, and more
  • a long-standing and respected event, typically held in late May, since 2003, from 7—10pm
  • event that caters to LGBT2Q+ people, who spend and travel more than the average population

• Swirl and Twirl by the Numbers

  • $2,000–8,000: Typical amount raised per beneficiary per event (Total 2017: $18,000; 2018: $20,000; 2019: $23,000)
  • $145,000: Amount raised for charity in the event’s 15-year history
  • 650—725: Average attendance (sold out crowd in 2016—2019)
  • $0: Fee to participate in Swirl and Twirl as a supplier of food or alcohol

• What You Supply

  Food Supplier

  • Minimum 400-600 total pieces of food (food vendors frequently run out quickly)
  • Serving utensils, warming trays, etc.
  • Promotional materials, such as banners, cards, flyers
  • Prize donation for our silent auction (optional)
  • Maximum of 4 staff people for serving
  • Hand-washing station as mandated by City

  Alcohol Supplier

  • minimum 18-24 bottles of each per wine served for tasting, OR
  • minimum 1-2 cases of each per beer/cooler served (or equiv.)
  • Corkscrews/bottle openers
  • Promotional materials, such as banners, cards, flyers
  • Prize donation for our silent auction (optional)
  • Maximum of 2 staff people for serving

• What We Supply

  • 6’ table, with table linen and plastic bin to chill wine/alcohol, with ice
  • Special Occasion Permit (SOP). Note all alcohol must be purchased under this number, provided later
  • Volunteers staffed at your table to help serve food/alcohol and collect tasting tickets, if requested
  • Basic hand-washing station for food vendors (limited quantity available)

• How We Advertise

  • Official Web site: swirlandtwirl.ca
  • Facebook page: facebook.com/SwirlAndTwirlOttawa
  • Twitter page: twitter.com/swirl_and_twirl
  • Benefiting charities’ Web sites, newsletters, listservs, social media, calendar of events, etc.
  • Media release to local (print and online) new sources, such as Ottawa Citizen, CBC Radio, Daily Xtra, Dorothy’s Closet, Apt 613, etc.

• Important Dates and Deadlines

  • Confirmation of participation as a food/alcohol supplier: April 15, 2021 (for guaranteed logo/name placement)
  • Silent Auction items given to coordinator by: May 15, 2021. Any certificate should be valid until at least Dec 31, 2021
  • Swirl and Twirl to be held: We will announce a 2021 event date soon, as we had to cancel our 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Contact Information

  Vacant, Vendor Liaison. Contact Glenn Crawford, Chair.

Download /Print Our Vendor Package