The Kansas State Fair hosts its first annual Pub Crawl with five beer vendors

This year, the Kansas State Fair hosted its first annual Pub Crawl. Five beer vendors and more than 150 participants showed up from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sept. 16.

 The pub crawl was open to all fair-goers 21 and older. For $30 the participants were given a t-shirt and a punch card, allowing them to go to each vendor for a brew.

Those who completed the punch card had the chance to win free concert tickets and a few food coupons according to Kansas State Fair special events coordinator Nathan McClanahan.

Vendors like Roadhouse Beer Garden and The Original Beer Garden looked forward to the event as a chance for more business on a somewhat "slow" day at the fair, Thursday.

Drew and Ron Mather participated this year as a father-son activity, "we figured we try (the Pub Crawl) as one of our activities this year, it's really exciting," Ron said.

McClanahan thought of the idea of having a pub crawl when he was looking at the schedule. He realized he could integrate the beer vendors with the Four after Four events, where patrons can get into the fair for $4 and buy alcohol for the same price.

"I thought what a kind of a neat way to incorporate it and help the vendors and promote our Four After Four promotion so we'll organize it, and it's really taken off," McClanahan said.

The five vendors, The Original Beer Garden, Charlie's Place, Griffin Win and Beer Garden, Sunflower south Concession and Roadhouse Beer Garden, agreed to participate.

McClanahan wasn't sure how it would go at first, but after the sign-up process began to fill up, he realized that next year they could expand. He hopes to add more vendors next year, as well as more participants.

"I think now that people know this is going to become kind of a staple of the fair, next year, the 22 fair, we'll probably have every bit of 250 to 300 people," McClanahan said.

Tammy Smith, co-owner of the Beer Garden said the event will be new to her 40 years at the fair, but she was excited to have more business.

"We've never had anything like this before, we don't know what to expect," Smith said before the event started.

Deanna Isabel, manager and owner of the Roadhouse Beer Garden said the pub crawl offered great publicity.

"I think it's a good advertisement for the fair... it's a good advertisement for a lot of the beer vendors, that all the different bars that are here on the property to where people start learning to know where each one is," Isabel said.