PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Brewers Festival (OBF) will return to Portland's waterfront this summer, but it will look different from previous events. The announcement comes months after organizers said the long-time festival was canceled.
In January, organizer said the festival wouldn't happen because they didn't have the factors together to put on a "successful event." At the time, they pointed to higher costs, lower attendance and extreme weather as some of the challenges.
However, on Wednesday, organizers announced the brewers festival would collaborate with the Portland Rose Festival for a "Tap Takeover" at CityFair. Following their initial cancellation announcement, the Rose Festival invited the OBF to be the main attraction during CityFair's second weekend at Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
"After 34 years of running the fest, I’m looking forward to the OBF taking a new shape in partnership with the Rose Festival," said Art Larrance, OBF founder, in a news release. "I’m already working on selecting the beers that will be featured, and I can’t wait for this June — it’s going to be a great event. I hope that all of our OBF friends will stop by and have a beer with me!"
Larrance will personally select the 20 beers that will be highlighted at the Tap Takeover tent at CityFair from June 2-4. Admission to CityFair will include access to the Tape Takeover tent.
"Our theme this year is 'Focus on Fun,' and the Rose Festival is very focused on helping bring fun back to downtown Portland,' said Marilyn Clint, the Rose Festival's chief executive officer. "Portland is known as 'Beervana' for a reason, and combining these two waterfront traditions at CityFair was an easy decision."
The brewers festival, which was founded in 1988, has been named one of the top beer festivals in the U.S., according to organizers. The event attracts tens of thousands of visitors to Oregon.