MetroFest To Feature Beer and Wine Tasting

MetroFest, a regional arts, music, and food truck festival taking place in Framingham on September 26 will feature a beer- and wine-tasting tent offering samples of Jack’s Abby Brewing lagers and Massachusetts wines.

Visitors to the tent may sample up to four lagers and wines for an entry fee of $3, with proper ID.

The event is a perfect fit for Jack’s Abby Brewing, whose brews have won national accolades since the business’ founding in Framingham three years ago, according to Market Manager Ben Warner.

“MetroFest is a great way for us to connect with many of the people who support us on a daily basis--customers, consumers and other local businesses,” Warner said.

A variety of wines will be poured by Fifth Avenue Liquors, also based in Framingham.

The one-day liquor license was granted to the MetroWest Visitors Bureau—producers of MetroFest—by the Framingham Board of Selectmen in mid-August after Town Meeting paved the way in a thumbs-up vote last April.

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Framingham Patch & Petroni Media Company have teamed up with MetroWest Visitors Bureau to give away a pair of tickets every weekend until the Sept. 26 event.

To enter this week’s giveaway post in the comment section below or on the Framingham Patch Facebook page post, which Jack’s Abby brew is your favorite .

Deadline to enter is Saturday, Sept. 12 at 11:59 p.m.

Winner will be selected at random by Petroni Media Company.

Last week’s winner was Mary Abramson. Week 1 winner was Sarah Collins.

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The beer- and wine-tasting tent is among a number of enhancements to MetroFest, which returns to Bowditch Athletic & Cultural Complex for the second year.

Intended to showcase the region’s arts, culture, and commerce in an affordable and family-friendly atmosphere, MetroFest utilizes the entire 15-acre, fenced complex with two dozen food trucks, Main Stage performances, a variety of free kids activities, and 80 exhibitor booths circling the running track and dotting the entire area.

MetroFest debuted in 2014 and is a program of the MetroWest Visitors Bureau, a regional nonprofit organization dedicated to stimulating the region’s economy by raising visibility for the area’s cultural, historic, culinary, hospitality, retail, and recreation offerings. Organizations hailing from 27 municipalities are participating in MetroFest 2015.

More than 7,500 people attended the first MetroFest last September. According the MetroWest Visitors Bureau Executive Director Susan Nicholl, organizers are planning for as many as 10,000 people to enjoy this year’s enhancements for the six-hour festival, which runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The popular KidsTown area will be expanded to include new activities, including an enclosed video gaming truck, an obstacle course, and American Girl’s Red Carpet, where attendees can have their photo snapped with their own doll or with American Girl dolls on-hand.

A new crowd-creation activity offered by Natick-based Palettes and the Natick Center Cultural District will involve hundreds, if not thousands, of festival-goers who will help paint pieces of two huge murals celebrating the MetroWest region. After the completed murals are unveiled during the festival, they will serve as traveling exhibits throughout the year.

The expanded number of exhibitor spaces are already filled with a variety of cultural and community groups, crafters, and a limited number of retailers specific to the region.

Main Stage performances, emcee’d by Magic 106.7 DJ David O’Leary, include The Love Dogs, The House on Cliff, Esther Rojas and the 3 Sudacas, and Crocodile River.

To ensure that MetroFest is affordable to families, the MetroWest Visitors Bureau has set ticket prices as $7 for adults, $3 for ages 5-12, and no fee for children under 5.

All activities at the festival are free; attendees may purchase their own food and beverages.

Event organizers will provide free, handicapped-accessible shuttles to four parking areas, including McCarthy and Fuller school lots on Flagg Drive, throughout the day. Many other lots surrounding the complex are within walking distance.

“We want this event to be as accessible and affordable as possible for guests, whether they live nearby or are coming from outside the region,” said Annie Murphy, chair of the MWVB board of directors. “A family of four can have an entire day of fun for $20.”

Tickets are available online at http://www.metrowestvisitors.org/metrofest/metrofest-tickets/ and may be purchased at the event as well.

Click here to see a slideshow of photos from the inaugural MetroFest in 2014.

Click here to view photos and videos from last year’s musical acts at MetroFest 2014.

In addition to Jack’s Abby Brewing and Fifth Avenue Liquors, major sponsors from around the region include MetroWest Medical Center, Distinctive Hospitality Group/Skybokx 109/The Verve, Align Credit Union, Needham Bank, and American Girl. CBS Radio and WSRO Radio 680 are Media Partners.

Supporting sponsors include AMR, Ameresco, Bancroft Boxing & Fitness, Bose, Doctors Express, ERA Key Realty, Fitts Insurance, Great Wolf Lodge, James Hardie, Leaf Filter, Learning Center for the Deaf, Middlesex Savings Bank, Natick Center Cultural District, Natick Mall, Palettes, Planet Aid, Renewal by Andersen, Solar Flair Energy Inc., Sungevity, The TJX Companies, Wayside Inn, Webster Light LLC, Wexler Chiropractic, and Wegmans.

Nicholl also pointed out that various Town of Framingham departments, especially Parks & Recreation, have been instrumental colleagues in the event’s planning and implementation. In addition, MetroWest Regional Transportation Authority and the towns of Ashland and Hopkinton are partnering on the event.