SKOWHEGAN — Tickets for the second annual Skowhegan Craft Brew Festival, scheduled for Sept. 2, will go on sale Friday, April 28.
Event organizer Kristina Cannon, executive director of Main Street Skowhegan, said the festival is meant to be a fun way to promote Maine’s craft brew scene, but it’s also about more than that. The event features local craft brews, locally sourced food and live music.
“Our brew festival is about community — bringing our community together and advancing our town and region,” she said in a news release. “It’s a celebration of our assets and a platform for showcasing those assets. We are a nonprofit, and our mission is to enhance the quality of life in Skowhegan, so all proceeds from the event support town revitalization efforts.”
In its inaugural year, the event drew 800 people from as far away as New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, and provided an opportunity for visitors to learn more about Skowhegan, she said.
Tickets will be available starting at 7 a.m. April 28 on SkowheganCraftBrewFest.com and at the Skowhegan Fleuriste. A limited number of VIP tickets, priced at $60 in advance and $65 at the door, will be sold. General admission tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the door, and two designated driver ticket options are also available for purchase.
This year’s event will feature beverages from Skowhegan’s Bigelow Brewing Company, Cayford Orchards, and Oak Pond Brewing, as well as from more than 20 other Maine breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries. The festival will also have food prepared by vendors who source locally, and tours of the Somerset Grist Mill.
Dave Mello Blues Band and The Youngerbloods will perform, and local merchants will offer discounts and specials. Attendees will be invited to explore Skowhegan’s section of the Langlais Art Trail and the Debe Park Riverwalk and learn more about the town’s plan for transforming the downtown Kennebec River Gorge into the Run of River Whitewater Recreation Area, the release said.
The Skowhegan Craft Brew Festival is coordinated by nonprofit Main Street Skowhegan, an organization working to make Skowhegan a thriving economic, cultural, and recreational destination where residents enjoy a high quality of life.
In 2016, Main Street Skowhegan led a collaborative strategic planning process for the town, and the organization is now working in partnership with the municipality and local economic and community development organizations to implement the strategic plan via town-wide revitalization projects.
All proceeds from the Skowhegan Craft Brew Festival will benefit these quality of life initiatives.
