Art of Wine? How about Fest of Ale?

FORT SMITH —  The second annual Fest of Ale was held Friday night (Aug. 17) to benefit the Girls Inc. Fort Smith. Guests gathered at the Holiday Inn ballroom were treated to live music by Sweet and Lowdown, a variety of hors d’oeuvres, beer and tequila tasting. Regular tickets were $35 and VIP tickets were $50.

“We have approximately 300 attendees with hopes of raising $10,000,” Amanda Daniels, executive director, said of the fundraiser. Last year's event raised around $5,500.

“This is something that is going to be great for the community,” she said.

Food vendors from different local restaurants participated serving food to the guests. Glidewell Distributing and Burford Distributing served as “event hosts” with beer and tequila tastings. There was also a silent auction and a drawing.

Paula Glidewell, a Girls Inc. board member, got the idea for a beer tasting from similar events that were successful elsewhere, such as Little Rock. “It's not just a beer drinking, but a tasting of different types of beer. It allows one to expand his palette and a good way to get exposure for your company,” Glidewell said. “This event is an innovative way to raise money and still have fun.”

This event exposes guests to the world of beer diversity. A beer tasting is not only fun, but is also said to be educational and intellectually stimulating. Some guests who don't like beer were drawn more to the ciders and fruit-flavored beers. Each was given a card on which they could rank the beers on a scale of 1-5 at each table.

Organizers plan to make it a yearly event.