Founders Fest of course!
If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, you know we have a special place in our hearts for birthdays. When a nationally recognized local brewery celebrates their birthday, what do we do? Hang out and volunteer our services all day, of course.
Saturday marked the second year in a row that we have volunteered at Founders Brewing Company’s Founders Fest. The third annual festival brought in over 4,000 people this year – more than either of the two years before it. We found Founders Fest to be a great celebration of local beer, local food, local artists, and local music. Who could ask for more?
Local Food
Our friend’s from Maggie’s Kitchen catered the event again and honestly I have to give them props because it was 80+ degrees and they were cooking on smokin’ hot grills all day long!
The Corner Bar in Rockford was also representing, serving hotdogs of course. We have to give them a shout out because 9 hours into our work day we bought hotdogs from them for a whopping $1 each! We loaded them up with chili, cheese, onions, ketchup, and mustard. The best 4 bucks we could have spent. I should also mention that two other Grand Rapids’ hot spots were there as well, The Pita House and Cottage Bar.
Local Music
As for the music, Founder’s lined up 8 bands with Lotus headlining. Hailing from Philly, Lotus is not a local band, but they certainly pleased the crowd. Local bands included Greensky Bluegrass, The Riley Brothers, Founder’s own FBC All-Stars (comprised of Founder’s employees who all belong to other great local bands), and Frontier Ruckus (Orion, Michigan.) If you attended the festival all day you would have heard everything from bluegrass to classic rock covers to rock. It was a nice mix.
Local Artists
“Artist’s Row” was larger this year than last, featuring a dozen local artists’ paintings, sculptures, clothing, jewelry, and other hand made pieces. We saw some very talented artists selling really unique items.
Local Beer
What would Founders Fest be without local beer? Founder’s had 12 beers on tap, including Founders Fest Wheat, which was brewed specially for the event. Of course their staples like IPA, Red’s Rye, and Cerise were flowing as well.
Volunteering at Founders Fest really is a lot of fun. We work our buns off for 10-14 hours the day of, but its a great time. Our duties consist of anything from selling tickets to putting wristbands on guests to pouring and serving beer. We’re happy to help out and be a part of a great local festival, and we’re already looking forward to coming back next year.
Everyone loves Founders Fest!
