CLEARFIELD – The second-ever microbrew tasting festival, Oktofurfest, sponsored by the Clearfield Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was held Saturday at the Expo I Building at the Clearfield Driving Park.
Oktofurfest offered two tasting sessions from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets benefited the SPCA’s completion of their new shelter located in Lawrence Township. The majority of the $325,000 needed to finish the project is for dog kennels, cat condos and other animal-related items.
SPCA’s Oktofurfest attendees received a welcome bag, which contained a tasting scorecard, souvenir tasting glass and 20 tickets redeemable for samples of the 20 featured brews.
“My favorite part is counting the money at the end to see how much money was raised for the animals and the new shelter,” said Beth Hallstrom, Oktofurfest organizer.
Hallstrom added that the new shelter in Lawrence Township has not set a date to open, as they are still raising funds to complete the project. She said the SPCA would love not to spend another winter in their current shelter and to hopefully move soon.
Jo Thompson, owner of Jack’s Distributing and a sponsor, finalized the list of 20 craft beers and hard ciders offered at the tasting. All the beers offered the day of Oktofurfest are also available at Jack’s Distributing.
At the 20 serving stations, volunteers from area bars, such as Pizza Hut, Legends, Busters, Mary’s Place and more were assisting as “celebrity servers” to distribute the samples of the microbrews.
“Oktofurfest is a party, a great time with your friends and a celebration of artisan beer. It’s also the Clearfield County SPCA’s biggest annual fundraiser and goes a long way to helping improve the lives of the more than 2,000 animals we care for each year,” according to the Oktofurfest Web site.
Participants in Oktofurfest were encouraged to bring items, such as Sheetz gas cards, postage stamps, bleach, paper towels, paper plates, garbage bags, office supplies, Kong toys and new/gently used blankets and towels.
Snacks were provided by Zion Meats of Clearfield and choice of coffees from Ethan’s Café and the Angry Bean Coffeehouse.
The Clearfield County SPCA is one of the last remaining truly open-door shelters, which means it accepts any animal, any time. Strays, the unwanted and neglected are welcomed with love and compassion, cared for and readied for adoption, according to the Oktofurfest Web site.
Hallstrom said there were about 100 tickets pre-sold, but she said many people attending buy their tickets at the door.
