Ronan prepares for first ever brewfest music festival
Taylor Davison
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RONAN — The Ronan Chamber of Commerce has announced the first ever Ronan Brewfest will happen this summer on June 24 at the Lake County Fairgrounds.
Rumblings of a possible brewfest have gone through the chamber for the last couple of years, with several board members interested. Katie Jo Elliott of the chamber said she began testing the waters last year by reaching out to different breweries at different points in the year to gauge interest. Good feedback in hand, she officially proposed the idea to the board.
“Everybody was really excited about it and a lot of people jumped on board, and we formed a committee pretty quickly,” Elliott explained. “I think that it’s the brainchild of a lot of us, and we finally got the motivation to take the leap of faith and try this thing out.”
The event has so far, a total of eight breweries confirmed and four more potentially joining in. The breweries on the list include the Ronan Cooperative Brewery, Glacier Brewing out of Polson, Flathead Lake Brewing out of Bigfork, Tamarac Brewing out of Lakeside, Canyon Ferry Brewery from Townsend, Branding Iron Brewing from Eureka, Bias Brewing from Kalispell, and Oddpitch Brewing from Missoula. Other Missoula breweries from Philipsburg and Butte may end up joining in as well.
“For our first year, we’re really excited to have at least eight confirmed and counting. We’re hoping to get some cider places as well so we can have a little bit of everything for every taste,” Elliott commented.
A big draw of this particular brewfest goes beyond the beer, however, as the event will also be acting as a music festival.
Named the Summer Solstice Festival, the chamber has lined up three out of state talents to visit and perform, something Elliott said they’re very excited about. These talents include Tylor and the Train Robbers out of Boise, Rider and Rolling Thunder also out of Idaho, and Bradford Loomis all the way from Nashville. “We’re very excited about these guys and we think they’ll put on a great show,” Elliott stated. “Eventually I think we could have some local talent in there and still grow the event to have some larger caliber talent in there too. We want to grow this event over the years into something that’s not just a brewfest, (but) to be a multiple day music festival with the brewfest tied in. That’s kind of our goal long term.”
One thing the chamber is keen to emphasize is that the festival is a family friendly affair. While tickets for those interested in beer tasting will go for $40 at the gate, $35 pre-sale tickets are available now. Tickets for those under 21, or those not interested in drinking, will only cost $5 as a cover charge to help pay for the bands. Several food trucks will be at the fairgrounds as well. “That’s really what we’re working to provide - a safe, family-friendly event for the community,” Elliott explained.
Tickets are available for purchase at participating breweries, or online at: montanabrewfest.com. The website also has forms for any vendors interested in participating, as well as sign-up sheets for volunteers. Volunteers who chip in even parttime will get a free shirt, as well as invited to a complimentary meal at a gathering afterward for the volunteers, bands, and brewers.
“I just hope that the community sees this as a positive thing and wants to get involved and help us grow this event every year, and is excited about this opportunity,” Elliott said.
