Summerfest 2015 Grows to Include Beer Garden

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GENESEO – This year will be the first Summerfest ever to get a taste of delicious local beers and wines at a beer tent set up at the Village Park next to the musicians’ stage, which will feature diverse and colorful breweries and wineries from across the Genesee Valley and Finger Lakes region.

According to the Geneseo Rotary Club, which with the Geneseo Merchants’ Association is helping to organize Summerfest, the tent will serve wine from three to four TBD local wineries, including Deer Run Winery, as well as beer from four or five TBD local brewers, including Naked Dove, Craft Brewers, and ‘house beers’ brewed for the Village Tavern on Center Street by Craft Brewers.

“This is a new addition to Summerfest, said Geneseo Rotary Club President David Woods. “The whole idea is to showcase local agribusiness, breweries, and wineries. We are a service club after all, so of course we look forward to the chance to promote more of our area’s businesses.”

In the past, the Village Board has raised concerns over the details of how the alcohol will be served in the park, and Woods said that very specific rules have been agreed upon with the Village to make the beer tent possible.

Alcohol will only be served in an area confined to the tent, and consumers can only drink the alcohol while under the contained tent area.

Rick Vattimo, owner of the Village Tavern, will be serving the alcohol along with his Tavern staff, to ensure that serving is done responsibly and by someone with a liquor license.

The tent will be open from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 10, and again on Saturday, from noon to 8 p.m., ending right before local favorite band Skycoasters takes the stage.

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