Get ready to raise your glasses high, as the Clackamas County Fairgrounds is kicking off its summer calendar in style with Canby Brewfest, a reimagined take on the Wine, Food and Brew Festival that the event center will be serving up next month.
Last seen in 2019, the Wine, Food and Brew Festival was an exhibition-style event offering local wineries, breweries and eateries space to meet customers and sample their wares.
In the reworked Brewfest, Executive Director Brian Crow and his staff have removed the exhibition element and provided a larger space in the main pavilion, giving people access to more varieties to sample.
The event is built around the simple tagline of “Brews, Food and Music” — and promises to deliver the very best the region has to offer in all three, with more than 80 beers, ciders, wines and seltzers, a wide variety of outstanding food trucks and vendors, and a packed lineup of top-flight entertainers.
Live music will be featured all day, every day, headlined by the Red Light Romeos on Friday, performing a wide variety of unforgettable ’70s hits from the Eagles, Hall & Oates, Fleetwood Mac and the like, and Radical Revolution on Saturday, bringing back the best of the ’80s from such artists such as Whitney Houston, Rick Springfield, Madonna and Def Leppard.
Rounding out the talent will be Redwood Son, Hanna Wood, Phoenix, Rae Gordon, the Sweetwater Band and Bottleneck Blues.
With all that dancing, guests are sure to be hungry, and the food court will be prepared to satisfy any taste with a diverse assortment of food trucks including Six Stix Gourmet Pretzels, Bayou Bros Cajun Boils, Unique Pho and Grill, Wayward Sandwiches, Bert’s Chuckwagon BBQ, and Lupita’s Mexican Food.
A 21-and-older event, the Canby Brewfest will run 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, May 12, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at $19 for one day and $34 for both. Entry at the door will be $25 for one day and $40 for both.
Tickets include four free tastings (eight with the two-day pass) and a souvenir Canby Brewfest mug.
There is also a “date night for two” single-day pass for $34 (presale) and $45 at the door, which includes two tickets to the festival, two commemorative glasses, four tastings per ticket and a free gift.
“If you are in need of a pre-game before seeing your mother-in-law on Mother’s Day,” Crow said. “Canby Brewfest is the perfect event for you.”
The Brewfest is a fundraiser for the Clackamas County Fair Improvement Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
For more information and to purchase tickets or exclusive Brewfest merch, visit clackamascountyfair.com/events or canbybrewfest.com.