By Khalida Sarwari
Cold beer, good music and sunshine: all ingredients for a perfect Saturday for the dozens of folks that were out at Wildwood Park last weekend for the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce’s first ever Brews and Blues festival. The event was such a success, organizers are already looking forward to bringing it back next year.
Chamber president Pat Martell said the Sept. 6 event went off without a hitch and everyone in attendance appeared to be having a great time. More than 200 people turned out for the festivities, she said.
“The music was fabulous, and everyone was relaxed and having a good time. The kids were enjoying themselves, the food was incredible,” Martell said. “Everything went beautifully.”
The smell of barbecue and sliders wafted in the air as Aki Kumar’s Shakedancer Blues Revue, featuring special guests Terry Hanck and Mark Hummel, performed old school blues and soul classics.
There was no shortage of beer, with four microbreweries pouring at least two different varieties of both traditional and flavored craft beers. And although it was a beer festival, wine drinkers were also accommodated thanks to Cooper-Garrod Estate and Guglielmo wineries.
The afternoon’s fare consisted of beef sliders, brats, stuffed tater tots and barbecue courtesy of Handheld Catering. A Kona Ice truck was on hand to further please the palate of attendees. Twenty-five percent of their proceeds from the sale of shaved ice went to a local charity.
Wildwood Park turned out to be “the perfect venue” for an event of this type, Martell said. In fact, it was such a fun-packed four hours that the Chamber is already thinking about doing it again next year, and offering an even better program.
“We’re looking at maybe trying to expand it, bringing more music into the park, because it was very well received,” said Martell. “Expand on the menu, maybe add a couple more breweries or so to the event and do a different pricing structure on it.”
Added Martell, “We’ll just make it a bigger and better event.”
With the next Brews and Blues more than 300 days away, Martell will be shifting her focus to hot cider, fir trees and Christmas carols for the Chamber’s next major event. If you guessed the holiday wine stroll, go on and treat yourself to a mug of your favorite brew.
Link: Saratoga Chamber’s first Blues and Brews festival at Wildwood Park is a huge success
