This past Saturday we ventured over to Royal Oak for the 1st annual BRUFest Michigan. The event was a fundraiser for Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan (CLF), serving 4,500 patients and families from all over the state diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood related disorders.
The cost to attend the event was $35 and $40 at the door. This included tokens for 10 beer samples, and all the food you could eat. It was a great price for what you received, and of course went to a great cause. Initial reports confirm around 600 pre-sale tickets were sold, and another 400 or so walk-up guests attended, raising around $30,000 for CLF!
The event started at 7pm, and we arrived shortly there after. There was a tiny line outside, and it moved pretty fast thanks to all the staff and volunteers. The setup getting into the festival was fairly well organized. We were handed a mini beer mug filled with wooden tokens, and a list of Bell’s Brewery Beers that we could find inside. The other side of the laminated list had a list of gourmet burgers and wings provided by Bagger Dave’s and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Once inside the Royal Oak Farmers Market, we found a crowd of people swarming around 4 booths serving beer samples. Rave Associates, a Michigan based beer and wine distributor, supplied the kegs of Bell’s, and brought a large assortment of 13 different styles of beer. Those that arrived at the event early were able to try Batch 9,000 and 10,000, Cherry Stout, and Consecrator Doppleblock. As the event moved on, and the crowd grew, some of the specialty kegs ran out, but there was plenty of Oberon, Porter, and Oarsman Ale to go around.
There was a DJ jamming tunes through out the night, which made for some impromptu dance sessions, and there were constantly staff walking around with trays of gourmet burgers. It was nice to not have to leave your spot in line and be able to grab some grub. At the opposite end of the venue from the DJ, there were another set of booths for Treat Dreams – serving up delicious ice cream, and Buffalo Wild Wings – serving wings and boneless wings with their traditional flavors.
At about halfway through the event, it became very crowded. There was always space to move around, but the lines to get beer were crazy long. Hopefully next year there will be more booths to help with the lines, and perhaps some tents outside would help as well. Royal Oak was a great location for an event like this, being a stomping ground for young adults and foodies. And there definitely proved to be demand, selling 1,000 tickets. The staff was great, and the crowd was filled with smiling faces. Overall the event was super fun, we can’t wait to attend again next year!
