Bird & brew
Event features over 30 types of wings, variety of craft beers
Roll up those sleeves and keep the Wet-Naps handy during the Albuquerque Wing and Beer Festival on Saturday, Aug. 27. The event, presented by Hungry No More and Uptown Sports Bar, will feature 10 vendors serving different styles of wings. Eventgoers will have their choice of more than 35 types of fried, barbecued and smoked wings, according to Justin Gerber, CEO of Hungry No More. The vendors are A& J BBQ, All Smoked Out BBQ & More, Andre’s Ribs, Brothers Bop Bop BBQ, Canvas Artistry, Fry-B-Q, Kimo’s Hawaiian BBQ, Kirk Seasonings, Pasión Latin Fusion and Wings Gone Wild. Eventgoers can vote for their favorite wings.
Several beer and cider vendors will help guests wash down those wings. They are Abbey Beverage Co., De La Vega’s Pecan Brewery, Rio Bravo Brewing Co., Rio Grande & Sierra Blanca Brewing Co. and Sandia Hard Cider. It is $6 for a 16-ounce glass of these offerings. There will also be other vendors selling coffee, nonalcoholic beverages and desserts. Live art installments, giant beer pong and a wing eating competition, as well as acoustic and electric performances by The Gershom Brothers round out the fun.
This event was created as a way to have fun and benefit the community, according to Gerber. Five dollars of every ticket benefits Joy Junction homeless shelter and the Fisher House, a no-cost “home away from home” for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers.
“I wanted to intertwine communities and nonprofits, by creating festivals to raise money and awareness for the organizations (nonprofits) that affect the community the most,” Gerber said. “In turn, this creates more community involvement and compensates people for their charity. The ultimate goal is to have multiple festivals a year, raising money, awareness, and community involvement to solve any obstacles the community might face. While Albuquerque is still a growing city, one issue it will face is keeping local businesses sustainable while more corporations come in. There needs to be an outlet to the people for local businesses to showcase themselves, and this is what the festival accomplishes. With these two issues, The Albuquerque Wing and Beer Festival was born.”