PITTSBURGH – Fresh Fest Beer Fest announces its official programming for the 2020 festival, now in its third year and a three-day event.
We’re back x 3! Fresh Fest Beer Fest, the country’s first Black beer festival, is excited to be back for year three with the #fresh3st block party in America and a new location!
What’s different and improved? We’re bigger than ever before which will allow us to be even more inclusive, extend our reach further into underrepresented communities, and become accessible to a greater number of people. We are thrilled to announce our new location, which brings Fresh Fest exactly where we want it to be: to the people. Our main event, the festival itself, will be held August 8, 2020 in the predominantly Black and redeveloping neighborhood of Allentown, Pittsburgh, affectionately known as Hilltop.
In addition to the Saturday block party, Fresh Fest 2020 will also include a weekend long schedule of events––symposiums, bottle shares, and a brewers’ brunch featuring collaborative food and beverage pairings––to support our primary goals of educating and welcoming (August 7 to August 9). New for 2020 is a hybrid model of both free and ticketed events, allowing even greater access by lowering the barrier that high costs create.
For the Saturday event, several free venues will offer music and art. These include: OnionMaiden, Work Hard Pittsburgh, Dr. Tumblety’s, Hilltop Alliance, and Black Forge CoffeeHouse. In addition to the open streets concept, several venues will provide additional space, seating, and entertainment, including Re 360 Warehouse, Arlington Beverage Club, and the parking lot of Alla Famiglia. Local vendors, food trucks and tents, live artists, musical acts, and deejays will complete the street festival approach, making this year’s festival an exciting expression of what Fresh Fest represents.
Accompanying some of the most original beer collaborations across the country will be a noteworthy collection of music, and we are proud to announce our headliners: Grammy winning and nationally touring jazz and funk band Ghost Note will close out the main stage, while Pittsburgh’s own Bill Henry Band will feature on the free stage.
On Friday, August 7, symposiums and a bottle share kick off the festival. On Sunday, August9, the Brewers’ Brunch will focus on Black culinary artists by featuring five food and beverage pairings.
Applications are currently open for brewers, collaborators, artists, and vendors and will close March 31, 2020. They can be found at www.freshfestbeerfest.com.
About Fresh Fest
Fresh Fest in the nation’s first Black beer festival and second best in the nation, according toUSA Today. The annual event showcases the country’s most talented Black brewers, along with Pittsburgh-based brewers in collaboration with Black artists, entrepreneurs, politicians, and business owners. These imaginative partnerships include brew collaborations, label designs, and/or food pairings for a new beer released exclusively at Fresh Fest. Established in 2018 by Mike Potter, founder and CEO of Black Brew Culture, and Day Bracey, co-host oft he Drinking Partners podcast, Fresh Fest attracts thousands of craft beer industry veterans and connoisseurs as well as novices from across the country to enjoy unique beers, ciders, and spirits. Fresh Fest 2020 will bring together 30 Black brewers nationally and 50 Pittsburgh breweries that have collaborated with an eclectic and impressive group of Pittsburgh’s finest. The event will take place on August 8 from 12-9 pm in the Allentown neighborhood of Pittsburgh. In addition to beer and spirits, Fresh Fest will featurePittsburgh’s best food trucks, brew-related vendors, artists, and live music throughout the evening. Media coverage of Fresh Fest has included Thrillist, Imbibe, NPR, Atlanta Black Journal, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The New York Times, Wine Enthusiast, Vice, The Atlantic, and October.