2beerguys beer blog

CANCELED: Lowell Ribs’n Brew festival 2008

This is quite depressing. I’d like to thanks Susan, Ben, John and Don for bringing this to our attention. I apologize for the delay in posting this message, but we were trying to wait for the official word.  I felt like Princess Leah trying to save the Federation (you should have seen my cinnamon bun hair doo).

The following Article was recently posted in the Lowell Sun (thanks Don for sharing):

Rib ‘n’ Brews Festival canceled
By Kathleen Pierce

LOWELL — After seven years on the barbie, the Rib ‘n’ Brews Festival in Lowell has gone up in smoke.

Scheduled for Sept. 6 and 7, the grilling competition and craft brew fest that attracts 20,000- 30,000 people to the Tsongas Arena grounds has been canceled from here on out.

Stuck with an unpopular date sanctioned by the National Barbecuing Society coupled with the recent illness of the coordinator of the state’s barbecue championship, Special Events Coordinator Andy St. Onge said the sizzle had gone out of the event.

“We didn’t like the date because we are always up against the elements at that time. Every year we’ve run it, we experienced rain. It’s hurricane season,” said St. Onge.

The festival took a hit last year, falling short of the thousands it typically rakes in.

“So we said, why do all that work?”

But don’t start crying in your beer yet, St. Onge is working on an Oktober-style micro-brew festival to keep spirits high this fall.

“It was a very successful component and it’s easy for us to run,” said St. Onge.

No further information on the New England Craft Beer Festival has been announced, but St. Onge is looking into downtown locations.

Link to Article.

It’s quite sad, due to the fact that some really KICK ASS breweries had signed up for this event. I mean some breweries that some of you might not have seen before and some amazing craft breweries that would have been attending for the first time. Trust me when I say it would have been an overall KICK ASS group of returners and existing craft breweries (as I am drooling just thinking about it). 

Maybe we’ll see you in October. If we do, we’ll let you know.

Thanks

Sean
2Beerguys.com

Drink Craft Beer, You’ve Earned It!!!

The 6th Annual RIB’N BREWS festival
*** brought to you by the CITY OF LOWELL (and Major’s Pub) ***

September 5th thru the 7th, the City of Lowell is host to both the Massachusetts State Barbeque Championships (Sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society and the New England Barbeque Society) and the New England Microbrew Championships.

Last year’s event, being the Fifth Annual, drew an excess of 35,000 attendees.

Dates and Times of Event:
     Friday, September 5th, 6:00 P.M. – 12:00 A.M.
     Saturday, September 6th, 12:00 P.M. – 12:00 A.M.
     Sunday, September 7th, 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Hours of Microbrew Tasting
     Friday – 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM
     Saturday – 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM

More information (including brewery list) to follow…