“May the Froth Be With You” (in a very Star Wars kind of way) with more than 80 breweries. That’s what the posters for the 26th annual Boonville Beer Festival May 4th 2024 said. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to pull a fast one on those enthusiastic beer drinking (mostly) campers by scheduling a series of spectacular downpours. This one Festival day was singled out and sandwiched between 20 days of clear blue skies.
Are you kidding me? That is really just too cruel. Nevertheless the Beer Fest went on and those hardy souls who showed up in their soggy Star Wars togs were well rewarded.
It seems these optimists brought with them a happy-go-lucky vibe that permeated the event. The vendors who showed up were the sturdy, hardworking kind who did not complain, shrugging their shoulders and serving beer and food with smiles on their faces even as the rain dripped into their pop-up canopies, bounced off their counters and into their cashboxes. The AV Lions Club first feared being stuck with a massive amount of leftover and very expensive tri-tip roasts. But they served at least 350 sandwiches at $20 a pop. Their crew did not miss a beat moving with skill as wind and rain tried to derail their booth. Other vendors reported that they did well and that it was definitely worth showing up. So “Yay” for the hale and hearty.
W. Dan Houck comes to mind standing out in the open being pummeled with the rain and directing guests into the fairgrounds. What a guy. Jenn Peters was also memorable cavorting merrily through the crowd in her Barkley (bear) suit as if she hadn’t a care in the world.
Everybody had wet feet all day long. The campers probably had wet everything all weekend. The turnout looked to be about half of the usual. This is not surprising as the bad weather forecast had been hanging over the event exactly like a gray cloud for at least 10 days, plenty of time for people to bail on their plans to come. The reality is that the cost of doing business is to have your parade rained on every once in awhile. This was the AV Brewery’s and the participating brewers’ unlucky year. It also seems that “in-person” events are still working on bouncing back to pre-Covid levels.
It all started in the early 1990s when Ken and Kim Allen, founders and owners of the original AV Brewery, created this event and decided that all proceeds would go to local 501C non-profit organizations. The website says that since its inception $1.7 million has been donated locally- a hefty sum that buys a lot of good will from the community. The website tells a fanciful tale of “Barkley” the antlered bear having the springtime blues and deciding to host a shindig to brighten things up.
Twenty-six years is a long time to keep the party alive but the excitement is still there and the attendees are still having a great time if all the whooping and hollering heard throughout the day is any indication. The cold and the rain precluded girls in skimpy outfits, which was considered a bummer by some. Hopefully next year will be fair, dry and warm.
Five different bands were on hand throughout the day. Hello Mendocino, The Deadlies, Buckridge Racket Club, Blue Lake and last but not least the Firkin Tappers gave it their all and helped keep soggy spirits high. The Firkin Tappers, a wild marching band, have appeared at every Beer Fest since 2006. Apparently Rod Dewitt, AV Brewery facilities equipment manager, requested help finding a group out of Humboldt that could come along to spice things up. You could hear them practicing amongst the hay bales in the animal barn this year. Their brand of barely contained lunacy really matched the moment. The Firkins have “A callous disregard for disciplined performances.” —T. Dalldorf,” the Firkins say, “The more you drink, the better we sound.” A firkin is a cask (in this case a beer cask) and tapping is how you get the beer out of the cask. Taken literally, you could say that the Firkin Tappers help AV Brewery attendees get the best out of their beer,- a noble pursuit. All that brass and those drums really get the blood up which is especially handy when it is cold and blowing outside.
What is locally known as the AG Building at the Fairgrounds was open so that rain soaked beer drinkers could dash in and catch their breath and wring out their clothes. Most breweries had pop-ups in front of their booths which provided some shelter. But the small space between the booth and the pop-up meant cold drips down the back of your neck when you reached the front of the line. But, no worries because at that point you got what you were there for: a fresh blast of another cool craft beer.
If you got hungry you could choose between Indian, Jamaican, Greek, Italian and American favorites. You could buy handmade pottery beer mugs and shot glasses, baseball-style caps from seemingly anywhere, tie dye, jewelry and photo booth photos. Boonville’s roving photog Lady Eloise was circulating in her protective rain pixie hood documenting the event. In the ticket booth Beth Swehla and Saffron Fraser were both having way too much fun. Gina Pardini was holding down the fort in the office as Fair Manager Jim Brown was stationed at the campground.
If you missed this year you can always come next. Visiting the AV Brewery website (avbc.com) there is a perpetual countdown you can view to let you know just how much time you’ll have to wait. Viewing it just now I see that it is 362 days, 9 hours, 5 minutes and 51 seconds until the Boonville Beer Fest happens all over again. Cheers!
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