FAIRMONT, W.Va. — The City of Fairmont is ready for the return of the city’s first craft beer festival just in time for the Halloween weekend.
Main Street Fairmont will host the 2nd Annual Frank n Stein Craft Beer Festival on Saturday, November 1, starting at 2 p.m., where close to two dozen breweries as well as over a dozen food vendors from around the North Central West Virginia area will be in downtown Fairmont celebrating Halloween with attendees. Executive Director of Main Street Fairmont Alex Petry encourages Fairmont area residents to take part in the festival that celebrates both local food and breweries, which will be hosted until 6 p.m.
“This Saturday, November 1st, is the 2nd Annual Frank n Stein Craft Beer and Hot Dog Festival, and what that is is that it’s a partnered event between Main Street Fairmont and the Chamber of Commerce,” said Petry. “And the theme is Frank n Stein, so that’s hot dogs and beer.”
According to Petry, 14 Mountain State breweries will be in attendance as well as four from neighboring states. The in-state selections will include offerings from the Corber Beer Company, Greenbrier Valley, Short Storey Brewing, High Ground Brewing, Chestnut Brew Works, Free Folk, Hawk Knob, Screech Out, Stub Town Ales, and Big Timber. Exclusive festival mugs made by Fairmont area artisans will also be on sale throughout the afternoon.
“We’ll have 60 commemorative steins created by a local artist, big mugs that are kind of crafted based off of Frankenstein’s face that we’ll be selling,” said Petry. “We’ve got a lot happening, a lot going on.”
For the food vendors that will be in attendance, the majority of the over dozen food options that will be served will be from restaurants based in Fairmont. This includes the Stone Tower, Whiskey June Bakery, and over a dozen different hot dog vendors from around North Central West Virginia. Among the hot dog vendors that will be participating will be Rock City Hot Dogs and J’s Hot Dogs out of Morgantown, as well as several Fairmont-based hot dog shops, maintaining a decades-long tradition of celebrating the delicacy.
“Some of them are based in Fairmont, and some of them are from Morgantown and kind of the regional area,” said Petry on where the vendors attending the festival are coming from. “But what we have in terms of food vendors are Wright Dogs, they’re a local Fairmont shop, Vandetta’s Hot Dogs, local Fairmont shop (among many others).”
Tickets to attend the 2nd Annual Frank n Stein Craft Beer Festival start at $45 per person, with VIP access available for $55 per person. Everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to vote on the best beer, with one ticket counting as one vote towards the winning brewery. With Farimont area artisans and live music expected to be hosted until 6 p.m. Petry hopes North Central West Virginians will travel to downtown Fairmont to join in the fun.
“So we have IP access that gets you in an hour early that actually gets you in at 1 p.m., and that price is $55, and then the general admission price is $45,” said Petry.