Celebrate Groundhog Day at inaugural Craft Beerfest


January 31, 2019 at 10:31a.m.

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Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The inaugural Groundhog Day Craft Beerfest will take place Saturday in the Stambaugh Auditorium ballroom.

There will be two sessions: 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $40 ($60 for VIP tickets) and are on sale in advance at the Stambaugh box office, 1000 Fifth Ave.; by phone at 330-259-0555; and online at stambaughauditorium.com (additional fees may apply).

The event will feature beer from 13 regional breweries and a dozen more from outside the area, plus food for sale and plenty of free parking.

It is being sponsored by the Rotary Club of Youngstown, which has been accepted by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club to be the official celebrators of Groundhog Day in the Mahoning Valley.

A human-sized groundhog mascot will be at the fest, which will also feature a photo backdrop with costumes, top hats and a puppet to recreate the Gobbler’s Knob experience at Punxsatawney, Pa., every Groundhog Day.

Local brewers pouring samples of the beer will include Birdfish, Canton Brewing, CR Brewing, Lockport, Numbers, Modern Methods, Muskellunge Brewing, Noble Creature, Paladin, Penguin City, Railroad Brewing, SR Brew and Wild Ohio.

Nonlocal beers will include Sam Adams, Brew Dog, Columbus Brewing, Lagunitas, Market Garden, New Belgium, Oskar Blues, Seventh Son, Southern Tier and Sweetwater.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the local charitable works of Youngstown Rotary. The club has raised nearly $100,000 over the past five years to support Operation Warm, which provided 6,000 coats to children in Youngstown schools. The Rotary Club most recently completed a campaign to raise $350,000 for the restoration of the pavilion at Wick Park.

The Youngstown club’s legacy projects include the founding of the Boys & Girls Club of Youngstown and the establishment of Easter Seals locally.

The group meets each Wednesday at noon in the Manchester Room of the YMCA, 17 N. Champion St. For information about the club, call 330-743-8630 or go to youngstownrotary.com.