A Festival With A Definite Local Feel: The Harvest Moon Fest

It’s always a welcome sight to see local breweries participating in beer festivals happening near their home locations. Not only do they get a chance to showcase their beers, some of which are likely favorites in the area, but if offers those breweries a chance to participate as a member of the very community holding the festival. Likely well known in the area already, the brewers themselves are often in attendance, giving them a chance to connect with existing or would be fans of their beer. Successful festivals, being the annually held events which they are, often feel like a homecoming event of sorts for local breweries in attendance – you know them, you likely enjoy at least some of their beer, so they can often act as a sort of local representative among the dozens or more of breweries there – homecoming kings (or queens) of sorts.

It’s somehow fitting then when a festival or event showcases only these breweries, intended or not, it has a way of feeling like a big thank you for being a part of the community. And just as “thank yous” are perhaps not said often enough, events like this don’t happen often enough, and when they do might occur as merely a tap takeover at a local bar or restaurant. However, this Thursday, four local breweries will be featured at a mini-festival of sorts being held in downtown Roanoke. Sunken City, Parkway Brewing, Flying Mouse, and Apocalypse Brew Works will be the focus of the Harvest Moon Fest, occurring on the roof top of Center In The Square. The idea behind the event is to give those who attend the festival a chance not only to enjoy the beer being produced at these local breweries, along with what hopefully will be a gorgeous, moonlit evening view of downtown Roanoke and Mill Mountain, but to meet the brewers behind those breweries, and to get a chance to put a face with, well, the beer.

Without a doubt, Harvest Moon Fest feels like a fitting way to toast the growing local craft beer scene: a festival featuring only local breweries, with the brewers and owners (community members as well, remember) in attendance, under the stars no less. No wonder the breweries might feel like the homecoming kings – or queens – of the event.

The event is from 6pm to 9pm, and details are available on a Facebook page here.