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September 1, 2022

Skowhegan gears up for annual Craft Brew Festival

Festival tent and people Courtesy / Main Street Skowhegan The Skowhegan Craft Brew Festival regularly draws 1,300 people to the town's commercial district.
By Renee Cordes

Skowhegan is gearing up for its annual Craft Brew Festival this Saturday, billed as one of Maine's few festivals to feature exclusively Maine craft beer, wine, cider and spirits.

The annual event, which regularly draws 1,300 visitors to the Somerset County town, was cancelled in 2020 but replaced with a Skowhegan Craft Brew Bag fundraiser, before staging a comeback in 2021. The 2022 edition marks the festival's sixth year.

Kristina Cannon, executive director of Main Street Skowhegan and a 2019 Mainebiz Next List honoree, said the festival is the nonprofit's largest annual fundraiser, raising $103,000 in net proceeds over the last five years.

"Proceeds have been gaining steadily each year, and I anticipate this year to be our largest fundraiser to date, as we've added a few major sponsors, and we have the most sponsors we've ever had in one year," she told Mainebiz.

Besides bringing visitors to Skowhegan, many of whom stay and spend money at local businesses, the event helps Skowhegan Main Street raise funding for revitalization efforts in the 8,200-population town, Cannon said.

This year's gathering comes less than two months after the $8.6 million planned Skowhegan River Park landed Franklin Savings Bank as its first corporate sponsor, pledging $30,000 to the project. Construction is expected to start in July 2023.

Leading sponsors include Skowhegan Savings Bank, Maine Grains, Animal Medical Clinic, Ware Butler, Butler’s Car Wash, Damon’s Beverage Mart, DuBois Construction, Franklin Savings Bank, the Hight Family of Dealerships, Key Appliance, Short Circuit Electric, 201 Service, Maine Roof Solutions and Redington-Fairview General Hospital.

Some 27 brewers are expected to participate in Saturday's Skowhegan Craft Brew Festival.

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