Big River Grille & Brewing Works will host four ticket presale events to the 18th Annual Southern Brewers Festival at their Downtown and Hamilton Place locations. The one-day festival will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25, from 2 p.m.-midnight on the waterfront in downtown Chattanooga. Tickets and beer tokens will be available for purchase during the presale events held on Wednesday, Aug.
8, and Wednesday, Aug. 15, from 5-7 p.m. at the Big River Hamilton Place location. Big River Downtown will host presale events on Thursday, Aug. 9, and Thursday, Aug. 15, from 5-7 p.m.
According to Kelly Wilson, marketing director of CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, last year’s presale events were extremely popular. “Even though advanced tickets can be purchased online, the presale events offer not only the advanced general admission tickets and the popular “Party on the Pier” tickets if they are still available, but as an added bonus, discounted beer tokens."
Tickets are $20 each for general admission (which will be $25 at the gate) and includes one beer token and a commemorative beer mug. Beer tokens, which are regularly $3 on the day of the festival, will be sold at the presale events for $2 each. “The advantage of purchasing your tickets in advance is the discount in cost, the “no wait” lines at the entrance to the festival and, of course, no waiting for tokens once you are inside the festival if you purchase them in advance. In addition, if there are any Party on the Pier VIP tickets still available they can be purchased in advance, but will not be sold at the gate,” said Ms. Wilson.
Day-of ticket purchases increase to $25 for general admission and no “Party on the Pier” tickets will be sold at the gate. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.southernbrewersfestival.org. This year marks the seventh consecutive year that all festival proceeds will benefit Chattanooga’s Kids on the Block. The festival will feature over 35 of the Southeast’s most notable microbreweries and will showcase over 75 premium, handcrafted ales and lagers on Riverfront Parkway. According to Ms. Wilson, there will be several new breweries at this year’s festival including Green Flash Brewery, Blue Pants Brewing and Straight to Ale Brewing Company among others, as well as favorites such as Rock Bottom Brewery, Sweetwater Brewing, Highland Brewing, North Coast Brewing and Abita, just to name a few.
In addition to the vast selection of beer, musical entertainment will include Drive-By Truckers, Perpetual Groove, Chuck Leavell, Toubab Krewe and The Black Lillies, all taking the stage in front of the Tennessee River beginning at 2:30pm.
The festival will feature the popular “Party on the Pier.” A limited number of “Party on the Pier” tickets will be available in advance through Aug. 12 for $85 per individual and $150 per couple. These VIP tickets can only be purchased online or if available at the Big River presales events. They include a private party on the Chattanooga Pier, a commemorative mug, one token towards the purchase of a microbrewery beer, complimentary beer and food provided by Big Rive Grille & Brewing Works and preferred seating for the evening’s live entertainment.
CKOB will receive the net profit from the event to assist in its operating budget. Over the past six years, Big River Grille & Brewing Works has presented donations to CKOB from the festival totaling $650,000 to aid their efforts of educating children in the Chattanooga region.
For the past 32 years, CKOB has featured life-size puppets designed to teach children and adults about social concerns and differences in a non-threatening manner, giving them skills to stay safe and healthy. The programs are free of charge to schools in 14 counties in Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia through funding from United Way, Sertoma Club, Chattanooga Area Brain Injury Association, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Tennessee Donor Services, CVS Caremark, BASF, Civitan Club and Kiwanis Club among others, as well as individual donors and fundraising events such as the Southern Brewers Festival.
Since 1993, Big River Grille & Brewing Works has delighted the Chattanooga area with fresh, handcrafted beer and premium, made-from-scratch regional cuisine. Committed to using only the freshest and finest ingredients, Big River showcases a passion for food with seasonal menus, daily specials and frequent changes to the regular menu. Big River goes to great lengths in serving each guest the freshest beer possible, handcrafted and brewed to perfection. This promise to serving nothing but the finest and freshest beer possible has led to numerous awards.
For more information on the 18th Annual Southern Brewers Festival, visit www.southernbrewersfestival.org, www.kidsontheblock.net or call the CKOB office at 757-5259.