Ashland Firkin Fest preview

From what we can tell Ashland Firkin Fest studied up on last year’s inaugural event and made some major improvements for this year.  And it all sounds good for the June 18 event in Ashland, Kentucky.

Here’s the highlights:

• Much larger tent space;
• Beer and food vendors all together in same area;
• More beers from more breweries.

We spoke with Whitney Lowe, executive director of Ashland in Motion, the event sponsor. She filled us in on the details.

“The set up is a little different this year,” Lowe explained. “We tried to learn from the inaugural year. All beer vendors and food vendors are together this year.”

“We will have 119 craft beers from 50 breweries including six firkins from Country Boy Brewing and West Sixth Brewing,” Lowe says, adding that the total number of beers is up significantly from last year.

The additional beer vendors are needed to serve the expected larger crowd. This year, 150 VIP tickets and 1,200 general admission will be sold. Last year, Firkin Fest had only 50 VIP and 700 general admission tickets. The 2016 VIP tickets are already sold out.

Ticket availability limited

A limited supply of general admission tickets remain and may be purchased at Ashland Beverage Centre and Continental Liquors in Ashland, KY, and online at Firkin Fest Event Tickets.

General admission tickets cost $25 and include ten 3-oz. craft beer tasting tickets; a Firkin Fest mini-mug; access to food vendors, live music, and entertainment. Attendees may buy an additional three 3-oz. beer tasting tickets for $10.

Festival hours are 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., with an exclusive VIP early admission beginning at 1 p.m.

Brewery line-up attractive

The fest will include beers from regional and national breweries. Of particular interest to West Virginia beer fans may be the Kentucky and Cincinnati area breweries. Kentucky breweries include Country Boy, West Sixth, and Alltech from Lexington;  Eight Ball from Bellvue; and Goodwood Brewing and Apocalypse Brewery from Louisville. From Cincinnati breweries will be beer from Rhinegeist, Rivertown, and Mt Carmel.

A smattering of Indiana and Michigan brews and a ton of other breweries not available in West Virginia should be reason enough for Mountain State craft beer fans to support this festival.

Family-oriented festival welcomes children

Firkin Fest is one of the very few family-oriented craft beer events in the region. Parents: it’s okay to bring your children. The event is free for those under the age of 21, who can enjoy all the festival amenities except beer. In addition to craft beer tasting, the festival offers activities for children, a photo booth, a silent disco, food from local vendors and restaurants, and live music and entertainment.

The festival takes place in the heart of downtown Ashland adjacent to the intersection of Winchester Avenue and 16th Street. All the beer and food are together on a block of Winchester Av. The music stage, seating area, and the children’s activity area are on 16th Street.

Entertainment features bands and karaoke

Lowe says that entertainment for this year’s festival features country artist David Shelby, local rock group 4^th Wish, and regional favorite, Shane Runion Band. The festival will wrap up with a karaoke hour hosted by local musician Gary Kesling.

“We’re saving that for the last hour of the festival,” says Lowe. “We want to let craft beer do its magic, and then give people the opportunity to come up on stage for karaoke.”

Local food vendors bring new food trucks

Some of the more interesting food vendors featured at this year’s festival are a fish fry and BBQ from local chef Andy Moore; new Huntington-based food truck Southside Sliders, specializing in unique sliders and tots; and a food truck debut by Ashland’s Southern-California-style Mexican restaurant, Suplex Tacos.

Attendees will also have access to the other downtown restaurants that are open on Saturdays.

Festival benefits Ashland business development

Lowe says that while the festival is a fundraiser for the Ashland in Motion organization, the other benefits of the festival are also very important to the community.

“We’re excited to have  this kind of event in downtown Ashland,” she says. “It brings lots of people downtown who may not typically come downtown. I think it’s really culturally significant. Last year, we had a lot of young people, a lot of people from across the Tri-State.”

She said there were even former Ashland residents who returned to the city just to attend the festival.

As is becoming very well-known across the nation, craft beer events and craft breweries are a very effective local business development strategy. Looks like Ashland has discovered that too—and we’re glad they did.

More information at Ashland in Motion website.