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Council approves alcohol sale waiver for Holy Ghost Parish Fair through 9 p.m.
Summary
The Hamilton City Council voted to authorize the Holy Ghost Parish Fair committee to sell alcohol and obtain an open-container waiver for Oct. 24–26, 2025, limiting sales to 9 p.m.; councilors debated safety, contract timing with carnival vendors and potential fundraising losses before approval.
The Hamilton City Council on Sept. 23 approved a pair of resolutions allowing the Holy Ghost Parish Fair to sell alcohol and to obtain an open-container waiver for the event window of Oct. 24–26, 2025, with alcohol sales to end at 9 p.m. The council recorded a majority vote in favor; one councilor recorded an abstention on the resolutions.
Joe Thomas, speaking for the Holy Ghost Church leadership, asked the council to allow the fair to proceed with alcohol sales at 9 p.m. "We are asking for 9PM councilman. I mean, we wanna be good stewards in the community," he said. Jasmine Landry, chair of the fair, told the council the committee and church leadership were requesting 9 p.m. and said organizers intended to work with the city to coordinate the event.
Council discussion focused on safety and on the effect of the earlier closing on the fair's fundraising. One councilor said he had abstained at the prior meeting because he wanted more information and worried that shortening sales from 10 p.m. to 9 p.m. could reduce revenue for the school and volunteers. Staff and the city attorney explained the request before the council was for a waiver to permit open containers and alcohol sales within the event boundary until 9 p.m.; the mayor's office had separately authorized administratively that the fair itself would close at 9 p.m.
Council members asked staff to ensure coordination with existing carnival contracts and to confirm how the open-container waiver would operate in practice. The city attorney said operational coordination between the fair organizers and internal alcohol-sales administration would be required, but recommended following the pastor's request for 9 p.m. Staff noted some leeway might be needed for open-container enforcement while booths were being closed.
The council voted to approve both the waiver of the open-container law and the permission to self-serve/handle alcohol within the specified boundaries and times. The resolution language recorded in the meeting packet sets the times as Friday 4–9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.–9 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.–6 p.m. The item concluded with direction that staff and the fair organizers resolve operational details and communicate any necessary contract adjustments to vendors.
