Brewfest Vibe: Second-year event hoping to expand on initial success

When the staff at the Clackamas County Event Center wanted to rebrand the old Food, Wine, and Brew Festival into something new, they landed on a pretty good idea.

In 2023, the inaugural Canby Brewfest kicked off with a pair of sold-out days and plenty of positive feedback about the change. It was a welcome reaction as staff wanted to create a more focused event, highlighted by beer tasting, music and the chance to enjoy it all in a relaxed atmosphere.

Mission accomplished. With the 2024 event slated for May 10-11 at the fairgrounds in Canby, the excitement for year two is building.

“I thought it (first year) went great,” said Catrina Smith, special events manager for the event center. “We were not expecting to sell it out, but the fact we did was amazing. I liked it way better than the old Food, Wine, and Brew Festival. We want it to feel different – people sampling beers, listening to music, just having a good time. I think we succeeded.”

Succeeded indeed. The event capped each night at 800 attendees and sold that out easily. For 2024, there will be no cap on attendance. The only question will be whether the event is outdoors or inside. The weather, Smith noted, will decide that.

Smith said they are hoping for good weather so folks can listen to music outdoors and enjoy the space. However, they will use the indoor site they used a year ago should things turn wet. Other than that, Smith said there are only minor tweaks to this year’s event after seeing things go so well in the event’s first season.

“It all went so well last year that other than a few set-up ideas, the way we did it was great,” Smith said.

Also new this year will be a greatly expanded raffle drawing, with nearly twice as many prizes as a year ago. Smith also saluted the partnership the event center has with Oregon Beverage Services as key to making it go.

“We’ll have more than 40 brews on tap, a fun lineup of different musical artists playing, it should be fun,” Smith said.

Canby Brewfest runs from 5 to 11 p.m. on Friday, May 10, 2 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, May 11. Tickets are available at https://clackacmascountyfair.com/canby-brewfest-2023/.

All funds raised will go to the Fair Improvement Foundation to be used to help fund the new multi-purpose building the fairgrounds hopes to construct.