Bellingham’s ‘biggest beer festival’ returns, pouring pints for a cause
The 22nd Annual April Brews Day festival is returning to Bellingham next month, and tickets are already on sale for the popular fundraiser.
April Brews Day, a beer festival featuring local vendors, live music and food trucks, is on Saturday, April 18, and is a fundraiser for The Max Higbee Center, a local organization that creates recreation programs for kids and adults with developmental disabilities.
“April Brews Day is Bellingham’s biggest and best beer festival, bringing thousands of people together to enjoy over 40 PNW craft breweries/cideries, non-alcoholic options, live music, local food, and more,” according to the event’s website.
For the first time this year, the festival will be at the Civic Stadium parking lot in Bellingham in order to make it fully accessible for participants.
“We look forward to celebrating and raising funds for Max Higbee Center’s programs promoting health, personal growth, community access, and belonging,” Riannon Bardsley, Max Higbee Center’s executive director said in a news release from the organization.
The festival is only for ages 21 and over and features a wide variety of beverages and brews from breweries like Bellingham Cider Co., Icicle Brewing, Anacortes Brewery, Greenwood Cider Co., Boundary Bay Brewery and Lazy Boy Brewing.
“April Brews Day started in 2001 when Max Higbee Center needed funding, a wild idea was born to create Bellingham’s first beer festival, and partnered with Boundary Bay Brewery. From a handful of breweries and a few hundred people, it grew to become Bellingham’s largest beer festival,” the news release states.
April Brews Day opens at 3 p.m. for VIP ticketholders and 4:30 p.m. for general admission, and last pour is at 7:45 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now online and cost $65 for general admission in advance or $75 at the door, and VIP tickets cost $90. All tickets include tasting tickets for beer and food and a collectable tasting cup. VIP tickets offer advanced entrance and extra tasting tickets.
April Brews Day is at the Civic Stadium parking lot at 1445 Puget St. in Bellingham, Washington.
The annual festival is part of Bellingham Beer Week, a week-long celebration featuring Bellingham’s craft breweries.
