By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
After being impacted by the pandemic last year, the annual Downtown Hays Development Corporation fundraiser Brews on the Bricks is set to return to downtown Hays this spring.
“It's going to be on May 7, back to the first Saturday of May, where it's supposed to be, back where it belongs, when it's not too hot, not too cold,” said Executive Director Sara Bloom. “We won't be ice skating and we won't be melting.”
The event features breweries from around the region, allowing local residents to sample a diverse range of styles of beer from across the U.S.
“We are hoping to get different brewers in this year,” said Allie Glidewell, director of events and operations. “We're reaching out to all the usual cohorts.”
She said they are working with local brewers as well to help generate an expanded interest for the event.
“Gella’s and Defiance are setting up at a Beer Expo at the beginning of March,” Glidewell said. “And so we'll be passing out information about Brews on the Bricks, then to all the brewers in the hope that we keep things fresh, keeps some new things in there. So that should be really fun and exciting to see who that brings out.”
But a special effort to reach out to Kansas brewers is ongoing as well.
“There's almost 70 breweries in Kansas alone, which is pretty incredible,” Bloom said. “We also sent out save the date postcards to every single one of them last week, we're sending emails out to every single one of them trying to get them to register early.
“We're working really hard to get as many breweries here into downtown Hays as possible,” she said.
With the event now back to a spring date, Bloom also said finding food vendors should also be easier, providing even more to offer during the event.
“When we when we had it last year, August is just a really busy time (when) we had it,” Bloom said. "School was already back in session. ... Fairs were happening across the area, so that really hindered food trucks.”
While the shift last year had caused a shift in the event, one positive outcome was a better balance was found in ticket sales, she said.
“We're selling the exact same amount of tickets that we sold last year, which is around the 1,500 mark,” Bloom said. During “the event from 2019, before the pandemic, we sold closer to 2,500. So, there's 1,000 less tickets available.”
Last year, the drop in tickets was an effort to reduce COVID risks, but it was accepted positively overall.
“We had such great feedback. ... This is the perfect size. These were the perfect line lengths. It just felt really good,” Bloom said. “So, we're going to maintain that at around 1,500 tickets this year. So that means there's not very many tickets. ... They're going to go very fast.”
Tickets are set to go on sale Tuesday at 7 a.m.., both online and in the office.
She said general admission tickets are likely to sell out before the event, but VIP are expected to sell out in hours.
“There's only 250 VIP tickets. So again, VIP is going to go very quickly,” Bloom said. “It sells out within that those first couple of hours of tickets going on sale. So, you need to be ready to purchase at 7 a.m.”
VIP tickets allow the participants are a variety of extras during the event and run $80.
“That gets you nice swag,” Bloom said. “It gets you in an hour and a half early, so you don't have to fight the crowds and no lines. It gets you a very nice spread of food that we bring in for you from restaurants all over downtown.”
General admission tickets run $40 and will run from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“So, you still get three hours of tasting, there will still be some food available, and we'll have a DD booth for those that don't want to drink or if you need some water or you need to take a break from the beer while you're there,” Bloom said. “We'll have all that for you. We'll have some music playing. We'll have some games that up. Lots of fun happening.”
While planning continues, she said the DHDC is also continuing the search for event sponsors.
“Even as low as I think $20 is our lowest sponsorship level,” Bloom said.
“It is great exposure,” Glidewell said. “So, all the way up to the $600 level and anywhere in between we always find a way to make it worth your while whether it's signage or what have you.”
Event volunteers are also needed.
For more about Brews on the Bricks, visit brewsonthebricks.info.