Wachusett going to festival on the Nashua River
By Karen Mann JOURNAL CORESPONDENT

Wachusett Brewery, a Westminster-based company, will be appearing at the first brewers' festival in Fitchburg, on Saturday, June 28. FILE PHOTO

Wachusett Brewery will be one of local companies at the first Brewers' Festival in Fitchburg at the end of the month.

The Nashua River Brewers Festival will be held on Saturday, June 28, from 1 to 7 p.m. at Riverfront Park.

We are confident this will be a successful event," said Planning Coordinator David Streb.

After attending the Connecticut River Brewers Festival in Holyoke, Streb knew he could pull off a brewers' festival in Fitchburg, and knew that Riverfront Park was the perfect venue.

After months of hard work from Streb, Trevor Bonilla, from the IT department and Liz Murphy from the planning office, and at one point almost pulling the plug on the event, Streb's idea will come to fruition next weekend.

For $10, people will gain access to the festival and receive a free sampling glass with the festival's name imprinted on it. At $1 a sample, people can taste a variety of beers from 14 different regional brewers and one distributor with import beers.

"It attracts people because it is fun and cheap," said Streb. "The nice thing about the festival is you can try a variety of beers and you don't have to commit to a sixpack."

In addition to the Westminster-based Wachusett Brewery participating brewers include: Gardner Ale House, Magic Hat, Redhook, Sherwood Forest, Hook & Ladder, Sierra Nevada, Long Trail, Samuel Adams, Saranac, Berkshire, Narragansett, and Haverhill Brewery.

Streb said it is a great opportunity to try regional brewers whose products are not distributed, or to try a new product a brewer is unveiling, like Gardner Ale House plans to do.

For those that bring an appetite as well, food will be sold from The Family Dawg, making hot dogs, and Country Good Take Out, serving up a barbeque menu.

"We will officially have the greatest BBQ in the region (at the event)," said Streb.

To keep guests entertained while they drink and dine, four different bands, New Pond Fondle, Eastern Eyes, Moving Pictures, and The Caroline Know, will play throughout the festival. The bands, as well as the brewers, are donating their time and beer.

All proceeds from the event will go to Riverfront Park and the Civic Days Committee. This is the second year that the committee must come up with all of the funding for the Civic Days events; before it was funded by appropriations in the city's budget.

"We want to help Civic Days, Riverfront Park, and the local businesses," said Streb. It was the group's intent from early on to donate the proceeds to Civic Days.

Only 2,000 tickets will be sold, so organizers suggest buying tickets ahead of time. A will-call table will be set up for those that purchase tickets ahead of time. Volunteers of all kinds are still needed as well.

The three are hoping to grow the event each year, attracting more and more folks from outside of Fitchburg as well.

"We want to set the stage for more next year," said Bonilla.

Streb said because he traveled to Holyoke last year for a brewers festival, he is confident people will travel to Fitchburg for this festival.

Murphy said she wants outsiders to see how great Riverfront Park is. For Fitchburg residents, Streb feels the brewers festival is a great way to remind them that although city officials are going through a tough budget season, fun can still be had outside of city hall.

The Nashua River Brewers Festival will be held on Saturday, June 28, from 1 to 7 p.m. at Riverfront Park on Boulder Drive. The event is 21 plus, and will be held rain or shine.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact (978) 345-1018 ext. 12, or visit www.discoverfitchburg.com or www. ci.fitchburg.ma.us.