Festival packs Village Square

Event serves up samples from regional breweries, wineries

Forget Oktoberfest. For the hundreds of people visiting Madison Village Square on Saturday, Septemberfest was all the rage, as the historic park served as its own mini-Munich, complete with multiple regional breweries and wineries offering samples, crafts and game displays, local business vendors, and local food trucks. Septemberfest, in its third year, is a fundraising event for the Madison Joint Recreation District which uses proceeds from the event to support youth sports leagues by sponsoring teams and needy families with children wishing to participate in them.

The organization, whose board consists of representatives from Madison Village, Madison Township and the Madison School system, also partners with other organizations to bring additional events to the community.

Last year, the event spanned two days, but was shortened to one through months of planning to better serve attendees, said John Dragas, recreation board chairman.

“We have about 15 different beers and 10-plus wines, and we let the distributors give us the samples based on what’s popular in the area. We’re getting better at this and we’ve learned. Each year it’s gotten a little bigger.

“And the Lake County Visitors Bureau is a tremendous help,” Dragas added. “That funding helps us cover a lot, including marketing, which we hadn’t done in the years past.”

While Lake County staples like Cornerstone Brewing Co. and Double Wing Brewing Co. were presented favorites, other breweries, like Cantonbased Royal Docks, were also a hit, tapping out of its most popular selection — Vlad the Impaler, a 13.1 percent (ABV) American-style Imperial stout — hours before the event’s conclusion.

“We’re just a little over three years (old) and we just opened up in the market in Toledo, Athens, and, obviously, Cleveland, where we got started distributing,” said spokesman Roman Musisca. “We were named the fifth-fastest growing brewery in the country by the National Brewers Association. We’re moving right along.

“Our owner (John Bikis) lived in the United Kingdom and wanted to bring that Euro-pub culture over, seeing the craft beer renaissance take off. It’s wild. And Ohio is making a name for itself when it comes to craft beer — it’s definitely on the map.”

Madison Joint Recreation District Board member and fiscal officer Terri Wagoner knows the multiple meetings, two a month for the past six months, planning and organizing the beer and wine festival continues to pay dividends when it comes to attracting people, vendors and distributors’ recommendations.

“The combination of local and regional offerings presents great options for everyone,” she said. “This committee works hard and it pays off. Just look around.”

“Our owner (John Bikis) lived in the United Kingdom and wanted to bring that Euro-pub culture over, seeing the craft beer renaissance take off. It’s wild. And Ohio is making a name for itself when it comes to craft beer — it’s definitely on the map.”

— Roman Musisca, spokesman for Canton-based Royal Docks

CHAD FELTON — THE NEWS-HERALD Lily Holt, left, and her father, Ben, prepare to serve a hot dog at Septemberfest. The Sept. 8 event is in its third year.