About 2,500 beer-lovers showed up for the fourth annual Oak Park Micro Brew Review beer festival in the village’s Down Town Oak Park business district last Saturday, five times the first-year turnout.
The zero-waste event has ridden the wave of popularity for “craft” beers, and surged in growth since its inception, said Gary Cuneen, head of Seven Generations Ahead, which puts together the event. This year, they’ll likely end up raising $50,000 toward the nonprofit, which focuses on improving the environment.
Cuneen said the fest expanded its footprint this year, taking up the parking lot between Marion Street and Forest Avenue on North Boulevard, in addition to the usual space along the 100 block of North Marion. Next year, they’re eyeing further growth, as Seven Generations hopes to expand the festival south of the train tracks onto the 100 block of South Marion.
At first, it was just a small-scale local event. But the offerings have doubled to include 90 different beers, and they drew visitors from more than 200 different zip codes to the fest this past weekend.
“What started out to be a small little beer festival has ballooned into a fairly big event here,” Cuneen said.
About 5 percent of the proceeds will go toward the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, while the rest benefits Seven Generations Ahead. The Micro Brew Review has grown to become the nonprofit’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
Seven Generations plans to host another beer-oriented event on Sept. 18 at the Haymarket Pub & Brewery in Chicago. There, they’ll offer food from the popular Girl and the Goat restaurant, coupled with brews specifically concocted for the event. For details, email act@sevengenerationsahead.org.