Come rain or shine the second annual Portage County Craft Beer Festival would take place. Despite some less than ideal weather conditions, Leadership Portage County hosted the second annual Craft Beer Festival fundraiser last Saturday at Streetsboro City Park.
Leadership Portage County, a local non-profit organization focused on identifying individuals with leadership potential who could positively contribute to the economic, business, governmental, educational cultural, social and civic development of the County, has been one of the driving forces in introducing a new local event to the community.
“It is always nice to collaborate and host with other organizations and cities,” said Andra Polasky, executive director of LPC. “It has a dual purpose of outreach and marketing and community engagement, so it was important to us to have another event going at the same time to draw and invite new people in.”
To celebrate the bicentennial of Streetsboro last year, Polasky said the LPC teamed up with the city and the Parks and Recreation Department to host the first annual Craft Beer Festival.
She added it was such a rousing success that LPC’s partnership with the city and the Parks and Recreation Department continued into this year to host another one.
“There are a lot of craft breweries in Northeast Ohio and they keep growing every year, so we wanted to be able to showcase the breweries and have a fundraiser for our program; it seemed like a good partnership,” Polasky said.
Breweries from across the Tri-County area, including those from Alliance, Akron, Massillon, Kent, and Garrettsville, were in attendance along with the Garrett’s Mill and Brewing Company and the North Water Brewing Company from Kent.
“It is good to be out here with all of those different people from all over Northeast Ohio,” said Mike Malone, a brewer with the Garrett’s Mill and Brewing Company. “I love seeing them and made a lot of friends doing different festivals and you can make a lot of really good connections doing that.”
Each brewery that set up shop showcased three of their craft beers and participants would receive a tasting glass to sample the different beers available but needed to purchase a bundle of ten tasting tickets for $25 to try the different flavors.
Each brewery also donated something for a raffle basket that would be awarded to the winning ticket.
In addition to the different craft beers available, the event was family-friendly because of the different food trucks at the Festival as well as the playground that would be accessible to children at the park and other activities like cornhole and pumpkin painting. Non-drinkers would have the option of trying hot cocoa or cider which was also available.
“We wanted to invite the whole community in and that includes folks that are not beer drinkers and their families so it was important to us to make it a well-rounded festival that will attract many people,” said Polasky.
There was also musical entertainment by Mother’s Ale, a husband-and-wife cover band that played mainly 80’s and 90’s classic rock music.
According to Bob Mayfield, a partner of North Water Brewing Company, what made the Portage County Craft Beer Festival stand out from several of the other festivals he has attended is the sense of community.
“If I have a problem with my tap or something there is going to be another brewer who has the spart part I need or the extra keys to fix it and help me out,” he said. “This is home to us. The money they raise stays in Portage County. There is quite a bit of pride in this.”
Polasky said the timing of the Portage County Beer Festival could not have been more perfect because it fell on a date that did not interfere with Kent State University’s homecoming weekend or other fall festivals in the area.
Although the Craft Beer Festival is only in its second year, Polasky said the potential for it to become an annual occurrence is very high.
“It’s been super successful in its inaugural year,” she said. “If that would be something that Streetsboro, the Parks and Recreation Department and Leadership Portage County can keep going, then I think it would be wonderful.”
