Last year’s inaugural Mancos Brewfest raised more than $10,000 for the Mancos Trails Group, and it’s back again with the goal to raise money for two charity groups.
The event takes place Aug. 13 at Cottonwood Park in Mancos, and the beneficiaries will be the Mancos FoodShare and Pay It Forward. Beers from Mancos Brewing Co. and Riff Raff Brewing of Pagosa Springs will be featured, and Guy Drew Winery of McElmo Canyon will be serving wines. Durango soul group Hello Dollface will headline the music stage, and four other groups including Dolores folk duo The Lindells will perform.
Event organizer Kathy Hands said the first year was a big success, and she’s hoping for an even bigger spectacle this year.
“Everyone in Mancos is talking about it,” she said. “I hope for a bigger turnout and that we have a similarly successful event.”
Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the gate. Student tickets are $5, and children 12 and under are free. Drink tokens are six for $10, and token sales benefit the Mancos FoodShare and Pay It Forward. Three tokens will buy a pint of beer or a glass of wine, Hands said.
Both charity organizations are divisions of Mancos Valley Resources, an umbrella organization that facilitates about 20 other nonprofits, Hands said. The FoodShare is working with Mount Lookout Grange to establish a food pantry and commodities distribution system for people in the Mancos Valley. Pay It Forward helps people in need with expenses such as gas and groceries.
“Any community needs that kind of resource to tap into,” Hands said. “Every year that goes by, we’ll have a chance to benefit more people.”
Before the event, the Grange will host a 10K and Fun Run fundraiser, which will end at Cottonwood Park. Bike riders and walkers are encouraged to join the race, and it also will showcase some of the alternative agriculture taking place in the Mancos Valley, Hands said.
Last year’s contribution to the Mancos Trails Group contributed in part to renovations at Cottonwood Park. New, more accessible trails have been added, as well as more picnic tables and dog waste bag dispensers. Those changes should be in place in time for the Brewfest.
“Anybody can access the park,” Hands said.
Durango headliners Hello Dollface are a group of amazing musicians who do a combination of covers and original songs, Hands said. The Afrobeatniks, of Mancos, played the festival last year and return this year with their original style of high-energy, danceable music, Hands said. Farmington acoustic duo Secondhand Strings will play, as well as Dolores husband-and-wife duo The Lindells. Durango bluegrass group The Great Contention will open the festival.
After the fest, The Last Nickel will play a free afterparty at the Mancos Brewing Company.
“It should be a really awesome day,” Hands said. “If you wanted to spend the whole day from beginning to end in Mancos, you could.”
For more information including where to purchase advance tickets, visit www.mancosbrewingcompany.com/mancos-valley-summer-brewfest/.
