Numbers show 1st Firkin Fest a success

By Tim Preston The Independent | Posted: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 9:52 pm
ASHLAND With Ashlands first Firkin Fest in the history books, organizers say they are pleased with
the preliminary results of the citys inaugural craft-beer sampling.
My conservative guess is we sold 700 tickets. It might have been a little bit more than that, said
Ashland in Motion Executive Director Danny Craig, who confessed he lost track of the number as waves
of rain and storms Saturday afternoon threatened the outdoor event along Winchester Avenue in
downtown Ashland. Of the 1,000-ticket total, Craig said the 10 VIPtickets sold out quickly, and
combined income at the gate for tickets and T-shirts added up to more than $4,000.
Craig said because people turned out in spite of the threat of heavy rain as part of a tropical storm speaks
volumes about the level of local support for Firkin Fest.
It was exciting when all of those people showed up. And, man did they come out, Craig said, recalling
his excitement as he helped welcome guests through the gate.
Many of those guests have since posted positively glowing reviews of social media sites, including
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Among the more than 70 beers sampled Saturday, Craig said crowd
favorites included the brew inside one of the firkins supplied by Country Boy Brewing, earning the days
first-place award, followed by Abitas Seersucker and Great Lakes Brewings Eliot Ness, which tied for
second place.
Based on lessons learned this year, and without a similar weather situation, Craig predicts next years
festival will grow and be a sell-out event. Organizers are already planning to possibly double the tent
size, he said, and extend ticket sales to 1,500 guests.
Lessons learned from the first event include stage location, Craig said, explaining the afternoons bands
(Tim Holmes, Downtown King and Split Nixon) played from a stage inconveniently placed at the corner
of Winchester Avenue and 17th Street, nearly a full block from the beer-sampling action. Craig said the
stage was put there to access electrical power, and promised the situation will be addressed before next
years Firkin Fest.
With credit to the events board and volunteers, Craig said the event is an outstanding way for AIM to
work toward goals including downtown revitalization and community partnership.
TIMPRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.