CANCELED: Bay Area Craft Beer Festival In Martinez

The following is from Kara Klotchman, Executive Director, Downtown Martinez & Co.

Bay Area Craft Beer Enthusiasts,

Sad news my friends, we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Bay Area Craft Beer Festival set for this Saturday, April 13th. Despite the glorious weather this week, the forecast is throwing us a curveball with a big rainstorm projected to descend upon us just in time for the event.

Ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for our attendees, vendors, and staff is our highest priority and hosting an outdoor gathering of this scale in adverse weather conditions on a grass field poses considerable risks for the marina lawn, attendees, vendors, equipment and musical performers which we simply cannot ignore.

And while we know forecasts aren’t always completely accurate, we have to make the call now to ensure all involved can have ample notice… Trust us – we’re gonna be more ticked off than anyone if this forecast was a false alarm!

To those who have already secured their tickets, please know that automatic refunds will be processed promptly so rest assured, you’ll see the funds returned to your original payment method within two – three days.

We understand the disappointment this announcement may bring, but please know that this decision was made with everyone’s best interests at heart. While we won’t be rescheduling the festival at this time, we remain committed to providing exceptional event experiences of all kinds in Downtown Martinez in the future.

Thanks for rolling with the punches and your continued support of Downtown Martinez & Co. and the craft beer scene!
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If you’ve read this far, you’re probably thinking about the “What ifs” – Us too, friends, us too…

What if you just did it in the rain? – As some of you sports parents and fans may know, the fields are typically shut down for rain to ensure they aren’t damaged. We don’t want to be the people that destroyed the Marina lawn. I’m sure you don’t either.

Additionally, vendors haul their valuables and equipment out for special events like this and we’d hate to put our small business vendors or in a position to have their vital service delivery items damaged.

What if you moved the event? – Sadly we go through an extensive process to secure event permits from the ABC, health and fire departments. This process takes about 6 weeks of lead time so we won’t be able to pull off a change that significant at the last minute..

What if the weather changes? – That’s entirely possible and would be a major bummer however we, and all involved, can’t assume the risk so we’ll have to hope that the experts got this one right.

What if you rescheduled? – Beer festivals are increasingly common this time of year and breweries plan their participation months in advance. With event season in full swing, we’re unlikely to get enough brewery participation to deliver the Bay Area Craft Beer Festival you’ve grown to love.

In the end, it wasn’t in the cards for us and that just plain sucks. We’ll be back next year and until then, visit our local breweries Del Cielo Brewing Co. and Five Suns Brewing Co. along with the other awesome breweries that were attending the event to your “must visit” list this summer.

21st Amendment , Alameda Island Brewing, Altamont Beer Works, Barebottle Brewing Company, Brix Factory Brewing, Buck Wild Brewing, Calicraft, Canyon Club Brewery,

Canyon Lakes Brewery, CUVER, Danville Brewing Company, DOZE Homebrew Club, Dust Bowl Brewing Co., Epidemic Ales, Farmers Brewing, Four Legs Brewing, Ghost Town, Hoi Polloi Brewing, It’s Alive Kombucha, King Cong Brewing Co., La Cantina Brewing Company, Laughing Monk Brewing, Mare Island Brewing Co., Morgan Territory Brewing Company, Narrative Fermentations, Oakland United Beerworks, ORIGINAL PATTERN BREWING, Rotator Taproom, Side Gate Brewery & Beer Garden, Sonoma Springs Brewing Co, Stone Brewing, Tipsy Putt, Trade Brewery and True Symmetry Brewing Co.