Update April 11th — tickets go on sale Tuesday, April 16. More details coming soon. Tickets here.
ORIGINAL POST, Feb 8, 2024: People keep asking, but I haven’t had a firm answer for you until now. Yes, the Washington Brewers Festival is back! The largest beer festival in the state returns the weekend of June 22 and 23, 2024 (the weekend after Father’s Day). The venue is Seattle Center – South Fountain Lawn and Fischer Pavillon.
More details are forthcoming. Mark your calendar. Here’s what we know so far.
It is not happening at Marymoor. The event will take place at Seattle Center this year. The Washington Brewers Guild, which is now organizing the event since the Washington Beer Commission basically ran out of money, did what it could to return to the Eastside, but King County Parks could not accommodate the event this year. (Marymoor is a King Co Park.)
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Over the lifespan of the Washington Brewers Festival, a lot has changed at Marymoor Park. Back in the day, the beer fest was one of the biggest events of the year at the park, but now… not so much. If nothing else, Marymoor Park is now, largely, a concert venue during the summer. I am guessing that doing it at Marymoor is simply too expensive and impractical.
I know a lot of people will be heartbroken that it is no longer happening at Marymoor. Remember when it moved away from St. Edward State Park? That broke a lot of hearts. And before that, remember when it moved away from The Herb Farm in Fall City. That broke a lot of hearts. Times change. Reality is what it is.
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It is not happening on Father’s Day Weekend. I assume that because it is happening at Seattle Center, the event will not be all-ages. I don’t know this for a fact yet, but I am unaware of any changes to the law. Marymoor Park, and King County Parks, provided an uncommon circumstance that Seattle’s municipal laws do not accommodate.
While there was something kind of charming and cute about it being an all-ages event on Father’s Day Weekend there was also something that always seemed unlikely about that arrangement. Combining children and a beer festival? I can see how some people might find that a little bit… off.
Also, and this is just my opinion, THIS WEEKEND IS ABOUT WASHINGTON BEER. Father’s Day is great, but can we just have one weekend, one event that is dedicated to Washington Beer? It always peeved me a little bit that it was so easily nicknamed the Father’s Day Beer Fest.
Unless you are a dad who wants to bring his kids to the festival with him, you’ll recognize that making the event all-ages is a big headache. If you are that dad, you probably don’t care, because it is someone else’s headache. Truthfully, this beer festival does not need to be for all ages. I know this opinion is unpopular with some folks.
Again, I do not know for a fact that the festival will now be 21-plus. It’s an informed assumption on my part. Stay tuned. I will have more information soon.
Check out the Washington Beer Blog’s events page for more beer-related events around Washington.
