ASHLAND — The weatherman couldn’t bring down Ashland Main Street’s inaugural Ale Fest on Saturday night.
The event attracted a sizable crowd despite inaccurate predictions of harsh weather. A blue sky and comfortable temperatures accompanied the festival that featured several craft beer vendors and live music.
Ale Fest 2021 sold out of tickets several days prior to Saturday, attracting nearly 600 people to Ashland’s Main Street.
Ashland Main Street Executive Director Sandra Tunnell has been attending meetings for Ale Fest for about a year.
“We had talked about doing it last year, but then that pesky COVID showed up,” Tunnell said. “One of the things we discussed was, ‘How could we do this next year?’
“We definitely wanted to make it happen.”
Fifteen Ohio breweries adorned the pavement including Ashland’s own Uniontown Brewing Company. Several food trucks also were also part of the outing.
Tom’s Kitchen Table performed a myriad of well-known cover songs to add live music to the occassion.
Aaron Pauly noted that events such as Ale Fest are attractive to him because they make him feel like a member of the community.
“Everyone from the community is out here tonight,” Pauly said. “You can see so many people that you know, people you don’t know and some friends that you haven’t seen in years.
“It’s a big sense of community. It shows that we are revitalized and ready to go. It’s a nice bounce-back from COVID.”
The event shut down half of Ashland’s Main Street, though Tunnell is ambitious that next year’s event may close the entire avenue.
Guests were given bracelets so they could visit downtown business and then re-enter Ale Fest at any time. They could also purchase tickets which could then be traded for craft beer from any of the vendors.
“We wanted to make sure that people understand that there were many restaurants (downtown), so you can come and go,” Tunnell said. “A lot of people that have come (to the event), I don’t think are from Ashland.
“I think a lot of people came just to come and hang out.”
