ARENAS:
By Matt Gibson, CVE
SPOKANE BREWERS FESTIVAL
Fun fact: There are over 6,500 breweries in the United States at this very moment, more now than at any other time in this country’s history. Of all those breweries, Washington State is home to approximately 375. Only about 70 of those breweries produce more than 1,000 barrels per year. That is, about 80 percent of the breweries in Washington produce less than 1,000 barrels per year. By darn-near anybody’s standards, 80 percent of the breweries in Washington are very small. Over 50 of those are located in Spokane.
Only a couple states have more breweries than we do: California and Colorado. Those numbers are a moving target. With over 6,000 breweries in America these days, and literally at least one new brewery opening every day, it’s hard to keep track. To say that craft beer is a thing in America, and especially the Northwest, is an understatement. Beer festivals have been going on since the original Oktoberfest started
in Germany several hundred years ago. Here in the 21st Century, there are plenty of festivals to attend no matter where you live. Unfortunately, there weren’t any in Spokane that focused primarily on beers crafted in the Inland as a date for the event calendar) for our hometown, and so, the Spokane Brewers Festival was born! Because of our active event schedule from Labor Day through Memorial
Day each year, summer was thought to be a great time to get folks to come a little later). After taking care of as much research and homework as we Beer festivals should be outside, right? Because of other events and timing
here in Spokane, late summer was thought to provide the most opportunity for a new festival. Hosting an event in our exterior venue plaza (i.e., parking lot) in early August meant tent rentals, port-a-john rentals, hydration and cooling
equipment...all of that contributed to a rather large expense budget. There were other issues: We had to draw power from the venue. How do you shade the music stage and deal with 100-degree temps? What about the presentation of the beer? - tually putting on the event. In Washington State, a private business has very, to hire pourers since our license didn’t allow for the brewers to pour their own beer. That labor cost alone, taking into account close to forty breweries was drenched in red ink. The takeaway feeling from the guests was that it
46 Facility Manager Magazine
In 2017, we worked even more closely with our Liquor Control Board agents to come up with a better plan. The Festival partnered with a Hurrah! No labor costs and happier guests, but that switch came at a cost: The event was then turned into a 21 and over event. Those young parents weren’t able to come, knocking our paid attendance down. We featured 40 brewers (great number to promote; more than year one!), but with that came more keg sales. Three kegs per brewer x $170 on average x 40 equals a large responsibility. No huge investment or labor costs along with the same equipment rentals to keep the event outside and then lower ticket sales made for a better bottom line, but we still were in the red. It was a much better better way to promote this event. The Spokane Brewers Festival almost didn’t happen in 2018. Running a
changing mission, mergers, etc. Luckily, a few of the brewers encouraged us to keep going and give it a third shot. One of those brewers found us a fund-raising avenue. With two events under our belts, we stripped the event down to essentials.
What is Spokane looking for when it comes to this event? Brewers pouring and talking about their beer. It’s too hot and smoky in August. Glass tasting vessels instead of plastic. All ages. Cut it down to one day instead of two. The feedback we had received from the prior two years paved our way.
great things: We had climate control, we could control the event experience with lighting and entertainment, the brewers had a much better experience event costs and we kept the brewery count to 30 for better inventory control and budget. All of these variables and more contributed to a much better event experience for everyone. Marketing costs were kept tight by utilizing social media only. Our team
created graphic elements for all the participating brewers to use on their re- spective accounts. Since we did all the work, they were more than happy to post allowing our net to be cast much wider. The venue tech crew created a series of short vignettes at local area pubs to give a video look at what guests could expect at the Festival. This plan worked wonders and was shared to thousands of potential ticket buyers. Liquor laws in Washington State change drastically when hosting in-
doors. All of a sudden, we could feature all ages at the event simply because concerned with food trucks inside the venue this year but far less than when the operation was outside (for whatever reason). Everything CLICKED. To go from almost canceling the event in April to improving our atten-
- Come and visit us next summer and we’ll talk over how to run a beer festival over a cold one!
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