August 8th may seem like a long way away, but it’s not too early to put the date on your calendar for the Hops & Vine Festival, an annual event to benefit the Humane Society Animal League for Life of Madison County.
While finding forever homes for the county’s homeless pets is the major goal (some of these cute canines and friendly felines attend the festival to meet potential new families), eating great pizza, drinking great beer and listening to great music provides a fun way to achieve that goal.
This year’s event, free and open to the public, offers yet another reason for celebration. It will serve as a 45th birthday party for Apollo Pizza which has hosted Hops & Vine since its beginning in 2013.
Wes Browne, co-owner of Apollo Pizza and one of the festival founders, says that whether you’re a beer drinker, foodie, music fan or animal lover, this is the festival for you.
“We have a great presenting sponsor in CG Bank and great co-hosts in Blue Stallion Brewery, Holler Burger and House of ‘Cue” he says.
The party will get started in The Quarter in downtown Richmond at 2:00 p.m. and will wind down around 11:00 p.m.
In between will be a continuous succession of musical acts to jam to.
Southern Rock Revival will get things underway at 2:00 p.m. Legendary hits such as “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Ramblin Man” will be in the repertoire of this band who brings the ultimate in sounds of the Southland to every performance.
They will be followed at 4:00 p.m. by PTY, which as those in the musical loop know, stands for Pet That Yeti.
Yes, the name may be a bit weird, but we promise that the music of this Appalachian Mountain Rock band from Southeastern Kentucky is anything but, with the lyrics of one song, Rainy Days Melody, described as evoking the sound and smell of summer rain.
No, there’s no word yet on whether they will be bringing along a yeti for festivalgoers to pet.
PTY may be a hard act to follow, but at 6:00 p.m. Rhythm Phoenix will take the stage to give it their best shot.
Playing both cover songs and original music, this Richmond-based group encourages their audiences to sing along.
And with a few craft beers under their belts to ensure participation, we’re positive many in the audience will let their voices be heard.
Finally, rounding out the evening at 8:00 p.m. will be one of the 1990s most beloved Central Kentucky party bands, Thumper & the Plaid Rabbits.
This band, which had its genesis in 1985 in a University of Kentucky fraternity house, continues to rock crowds with a gusto that would have made John Belushi and the rest of the Animal House frat boys twist their togas.
Festivalgoers are invited to bring lawn chairs and well-behaved dogs on a leash. They are not, however, allowed to bring coolers or outside beverages as there will be local breweries (in addition to Blue Stallion, others on hand to pour their product will be West Sixth, Country Boy, Atrium, Mirror Twin, Wooden Cask, Burl Brew and Wise Owl Cider), as well as food trucks, and Poppy’s Ice Cream to keep celebrants from going thirsty or hungry.
So, everyone who loves a good summer festival as well as a good cause, mark the date now: August 8th; 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.; The Quarter in downtown Richmond, and best of all, free admission.
This is a community festival where – at least for the day – every visitor becomes part of our community.