8th Annual Oregon Brewers Brunch & Parade

With these warm temperatures we here at Brewpublic have summer on our mind. Yes, we are well aware that its only May 1st but its not too soon to begin thinking about the Oregon Brewers Festival. And the best way to kick off the 27th Annual Oregon Brewers Festival is by participating in the Oregon Brewers Brunch & Parade.

The 8th annual Oregon Brewers Brunch & Parade will take place on Wednesday, July 23 from 9 to 11:30am at Lucky Labrador Brewing Co, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Tickets will go on sale via the Oregon Brewers Festival webpage at 8am on today! Don’t delay if you want to get in on the fun as theses tickets usually sell out within the first day, if not sooner. The cost to attend the brunch is $45 per ticket, which includes brunch, two beers, a T shirt, the official OBF tasting glass, four OBF tokens, and a lanyard to hold your glass while you march in the parade. There will only be 550 tickets sold and all tickets are non-refundable.

Once the brunch ends, the Oregon Brewers Parade is set to commence at 11:30am outside of the Lucky Labrador on SE Hawthorne. Well over 700 Oregon craft beer lovers will take to the streets and march from Southeast Portland, over the Willamette River on the Hawthorne Bridge to end up at the festival grounds in time for the start of the 27th Annual OBF.

This year’s Grand Marshal is Jack Joyce, the founder of Rogue Ales which opened in Ashland, OR in 1988, the same year the Oregon Brewers Festival got its start. Jack and OBF founder Art Larrance will be chauffeured along the parade route in style courtesy of PDX Pedicab. Parade goers will also be accompanied by the funky sounds of the Transcendental Brass Band.

There is no cost or age restriction to take part in the parade. Many of the brewers dress up in costume – look for Rogue monks, McMenamins Hammerheads, Cascade mad brewery scientists and other clever creations! Feel free to dress up yourself, we love creativity!

The parade concludes with the opening ceremonies of the 27th annual Oregon Brewers Festival onsite at Noon, which will feature the tapping of the official festival barrel. Everyone with a tasting glass and a wristband gets a complimentary glass of the beer, so buy your tasting glass in advance at locations across Portland and be sure and get a wristband from the posted security officer at the start of the parade.

Sounds like a great way to kick off the 27th Annual OBF that takes place from July 23 -27, 2014.