Asheville News

Last gasp for Brewgrass tickets; people lined up in downtown Asheville this morning to buy at Barley’s

Jason Sandford June 14, 2010

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

About 20 people waited in line this morning outside Barley’s on Biltmore Avenue at 10:30 a.m. for their last chance at buying tickets for Brewgrass, Asheville’s popular fall beer festival.

About 3,000 tickets for the event went on sale online earlier this year and sold out in less than a day. This morning, there are about 250 tickets on sale.

“I drove in from Johnson City,” said Tennessee resident Mike Taylor, who said he got in line about 7 a.m. this morning. Why make the drive? “It’s the only way to get tickets,” said Taylor. He said he was shut out when trying to buy online back in May.

Carey Crowley spent her time in line texting back friends who were writing to ask her to buy tickets for them. With a four-ticket per person limit this morning, Crowley said she can’t make all her friends happy.

The organizers “have done a really nice job with the festival” over the years, said Crowley. She said she was excited about attending again this September, and was happy that organizers were selling tickets locally.

“You have to support those who support you,” Crowley said.

Asheville’s beer festivals have taken off the past couple of years after Asheville tied for the title of Beer City USA in an online poll in 2009 and won the title outright this year.

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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1 Comment

Isle of Man June 16, 2010

As beer festivals go, I’ve always found Brewgrass to be highly over-rated and over-hyped. Why do people get so up and arms about these tickets every year, buying them months and months before the event? It’s not like it’s any cooler in September, and it’s not leaf season yet. Is it just the tradition of the festival itself? Because it’s certainly a run-of-the-mill beer fest if you’ve ever been to any others. Absolutely nothing special about it.

Asheville just had a pretty great summertime beer fest at the new Pack Square, but it struggled to sell out up until the day of the event. There was a fountain to cool off in, an awesome stage area and shady hills to escape the sun. On the other hand, Brewgrass is currently held in probably the worst possible venue for attendees. Unless you just like to be punished by the sun all day and wonder around aimlessly in a boring baseball field, MLK park is not an ideal venue, yet people don’t seem to care.

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