Poor ticket sales cited

The second annual Great River Craft Beer Fest set for Saturday, April 30 has been scrapped due to the low number of pre-sale tickets for the event.

The announcement was made Wednesday night on the event’s Facebook page.

“With great regret, we are canceling the April 30 Great River Craft Beer Fest. The organizers strived to have a high quality event, but various factors have played into making this difficult decision,” the Facebook post states. “The goal has always been to provide a premium experience for our beer enthusiasts, and based on advance ticket sales, we would be unable to conduct a quality event.”

Steve Call, president of the Ironton area Kiwanis Club and one of the co-organizers of the event, said he was surprised not enough pre-sale tickets were purchased to carry on with the event.

“We had an awesome lineup of breweries that self-distribute their products. The only way to sample their beers would be to travel to their site. We had a company from Millersburg in the heart of Ohio’s Amish country participating and there were other small breweries attending. We even had a Columbus brewery bringing gluten free beer,” Call said. “I’m shocked we didn’t build on last year’s experience. Everyone seemed to have a great time in April 2015. If we would have had 2016 tickets, we would have already had 100 or more from last year. We believe it’s a combination of factors that led to a low pre-sale amount.”

Tickets that were purchased online at beerfest.com will be refunded to the purchaser’s credit card automatically. If a paper ticket was purchased at a local retail outlet, call 740-522-9797 and leave your name, a return phone number and the subject of craft beer refund. You can also contact the Great River Craft Beer Fest on Facebook page, facebook.com/GreatRiverBeerFest, and leave a private message.

“Providing a great experience with a wide range of products was and is our goal,” Call sad. “We just couldn’t get to that level this year. We’re hoping that 2017 will be a new experience.”