Festival Junkie!
Kate here, known to many as a festival junkie. I just love a good gathering of folks to celebrate something random, especially if it's food! Going to college in eastern North Carolina, I spent many a weekend day celebrating watermelons, azaleas, Pepsi (although I'm still on team Coke) and collards. These festivals were celebrated in small, rural communities, complete with a parade, a Queen and LOTS of funnel cake. When I moved to Richmond in 2000, I was ecstatic when I learned of the many fabulous urban festivals the city had to offer. Some of my favorites include Broad Appetit, Lebanese Food Festival, Richmond Vegetarian Festival, Greek Festival, and the Folk Festival. When I heard that Carytown was putting on a craft beer festival, I had high hopes for another great festival to add to the list.
We got our tickets a few days before the event, knowing that the great weather forecast and the love that Richmonders have for festivals and beer was giving the festival a good chance of selling out. I will say, we were a bit hesitant at $15 bucks a pop, but decided it would be worth it for the tastings and the pint glass. Based on conversations with friends, purchasing the tickets in advance was smart, as many folks waited 45+ minutes just to buy their tickets, and had to pay $20 each.
So here's what I liked about the festival. It's a good idea, no, a GREAT idea. The local beer scene is booming, and it's awesome to see a festival to enlighten Richmonders that there is more beer out there beyond PBR and Bud Light. From what I was able to see, the selection was decent- some local favorites like Starr Hill and Devil's Backbone, and some breweries my husband and I hadn't heard of (Lickinghole Creek? Awesome!). The staff and volunteers we interacted with were in great spirits and super friendly, and since we had our tickets, we got in the gates really quick. And as with any festival, I enjoyed running into people I haven't seen in a while and catching up.
However, it was poorly planned for the crowd. Cary Court is just too small of a space for the number of tickets that were sold. The event was 12-6, and we arrived after 1pm. The pint glasses were long gone, so we were given a plastic cup for sampling. Then we had to figure out what was going on. The whole area was a just bunch of lines going one way and another. It was difficult to figure out what line was for what brewery or food vendor. In fact, we tried to work our way near the beer tents, and follow the line from the front to get to the end. The first line we got in moved pretty quickly. Unfortunately we didn't have the beer & vendor list (none to be found when we arrived), and this particular brewery had two beers available to choose from, neither style was one we enjoy. We took our samples (maybe 3 ounces?) and got into another line. That line was a bit longer. After one hour, two small samples, we were ready to go. It was also a shame that you had to choose only one of two beers at each tent- if you wanted to try the other one, back to the end of the line!
We knew going into this that it was going to be crowded. But it was uncomfortably packed. Fortunately everyone that we encountered was in a pleasant mood, despite the lines. You could tell everyone was frustrated, and disappointed, but tried to make the most of it. I left feeling exactly that. We toyed with the idea of trying to go back later in the day, but it didn't happen. I checked out the Facebook posts later, and it sounds like we were not alone.
I hope the organizers try again, and I hope they plan smarter. The layout of the beer vendors was actually good, just way too many people to make it work. Consider blocking off the streets for a few blocks to help spread out the crowd. Better estimate the number of pint glasses (Yes, I know it said "While supplies last" in small letters, but folks coming in less than an hour of the festival didn't get glasses). Offer water dispensers for the Designated Drivers as well for the beer drinkers. Better estimate the capacity of the area and only sell tickets for that capacity. You can count on it selling out- it's a great weather month & we love beer!
Did anyone else brave the festival? How was your experience?
Until the next festival,
Kate
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