If the Boys and Girls Club of the Golden Triangle wants to serve alcohol at its upcoming fundraiser, that’s fine with the Columbus City Council.

Just don’t put it in the event’s name.

That’s the instruction Ron Thornton, the nonprofit’s CEO, took from a council work session Thursday at City Hall in reference to a planned “Brews and Blues” event the club hopes to host June 14 at the Hitching Lot Farmers’ Market.

The council tabled approving the event’s permit at its Jan. 21 meeting, instead kicking discussion to Thursday’s work session where Thornton spoke.

Thornton said plans are for food vendors from Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay counties to compete in a Taste of the Golden Triangle contest at the event, where patrons would sample their food and vote for the winners. An “all-inclusive” ticket, he said, would cover patrons’ food, as well as access to live music and a beer garden on site.

But some on the council worried about the optics of such a fundraiser.

“When I first saw it, I thought, ‘You’re having a Boys and Girls Club (event), but you’re centering it around beer,’” Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene said. “That just seems like a conflict to me, like it’s sending the wrong message.”

Thornton countered that similar events, citing Jackson specifically, serve alcohol while benefitting Boys and Girls Clubs.

“It’s an adult event,” he said. “There’s no children at the event. It’s not sending a message that we’re promoting alcohol use.”

Vice Mayor Joseph Mickens, who represents Ward 2, didn’t see it that way, arguing that community perception matters.

“I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t see how you’re saying it’s not sending a message,” Mickens said. “I look at Chick-Fil-A. They don’t want people working on Sunday, so they close down. … I agree with my colleague. I don’t like the message that it’s sending for our kids. Brews. Beer. I’m just not a supporter of that.”

That’s when Greene suggested changing the name of the event would remove his objection, adding he understands the club is trying to host an event people would enjoy.

Ethel Stewart, councilwoman for Ward 1, agreed.

“We’re not beating up on you for fundraising for the kids,” she said, noting she helps plan the annual Southside Blues Festival. “… Guess what? We serve beer. We sell beer. But we don’t say ‘Southside Beer and Blues Festival.’”

Thornton promised he and his board would consider a name change and bring a new permit request before the council. He told council members the organization established the “Brews and Blues” name before the COVID-19 pandemic with the event’s first iteration in West Point. June is meant to be the fundraiser’s relaunch.

“Change the name, and it sounds like you’ll have the consent of the council,” Mickens told Thornton. “That’s our major concern.”

After the meeting, Thornton told The Dispatch he wasn’t surprised by the council’s reaction. He thinks a name change is a “fair solution.”

“We’re not promoting the use of alcohol (by children) in any context,” he said.

Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.