New Weekend Festival 'Brave Brews' to be Hosted in Auburn March 4 - 6, 2022

Save the date: 

The second annual Brave Brews Fest will be held in Auburn, NY  March 3-5, 2023

Equal Rights Heritage Center and City of Auburn Announce Brave Brews

New Festival will Celebrate Women in the Craft Beverage Industry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 1, 2022

CONTACT: Courtney Rae Kasper, Visitor Experience Manager New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center 315.258.9820, courtney@auburndowntown.org

AUBURN, NY – A new annual weekend-long festival will kick-off Women’s History Month in Auburn supporting the women of New York’s burgeoning craft beverage industry. Named Brave Brews: Celebrating Women in Craft Beverage, the event will be held March 4 through 6, 2022, in Auburn.

The weekend-long celebration was inspired by the Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day® event that Prison City Brewing owner Dawn Schulz has hosted for the past four years. Part of a national brewing collaborative project sponsored by the Pink Boots Society® to commemorate International Women’s Day, Schulz aims to increase Prison City’s annual brew day participation from 20 to 80 participants this year and teamed up with the City’s Historic and Cultural Sites Commission and the New York State Equal Rights Heritage Center to expand the annual ritual into a weekend of events. Brave Brews will begin with the 2022 rendition of the Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day® on Friday, March 4.

Toasting the history and her-story of brewing will continue with more than 20 cultural sites and businesses in the greater downtown Auburn area hosting First Friday evening festivities as a kick-off for Brave Brews Weekend.  The Cayuga Museum of History & Art will unveil a new 2022 exhibition Proof Positive that explores the history of how wine, beer, cider, and spirits are made in Cayuga County; the Equal Rights Heritage Center will host a meet and greet with Harlem Brewing Company Brewer and Founder Celeste Beatty, the first African American woman to own a brewery in the United States; and a Beer Dinner with award-winning beer and food writer The Beeroness, Jackie Dodd Mallory, hosted by Prison City Brewing and catered by Scratch Farmhouse Catering. Other First Friday events include tap takeovers and live music at local bars and breweries, open houses at historic and cultural sites, and, a free downtown shuttle in the evening hours to safely transport participants from site to site.

Daytime festivities for Saturday will feature programmed events highlighting women in the craft beverage industry with notable guests and speakers, along with special tours at historic and cultural sites, a Beer & Donuts brunch, and a new Drink Like a Girl® 1 Mile Craft Beer Tasting Walk in downtown Auburn. The inaugural tasting walk will highlight downtown Auburn’s three craft breweries along with three guest breweries navigating a one mile walk through Auburn’s historic downtown. The walk will commence with inspirational words from Harlem Brewing Company Owner Celeste Beatty and feature music along the way. Mid-afternoon on Saturday, Prison City’s North Street Farm Brewery will host a FIRE & ICE Fest with live music, beverage tastings, ice sculptures, and fireworks. 

The Heritage Center and Commission partnered with creative and technology firm, and certified B Corp, TGW Studio of Rochester, NY, to brand Brave Brews. Additionally, a website has been developed to attract and welcome visitors to the area, and to provide updated information on the celebration's events.  Some weekend events are free, and others will be ticketed, for complete event information, visit www.bravebrewsfest.com.

Brave Brews is supported by a Market New York grant from I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism as a part of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.

NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center The NYS Equal Rights Heritage Center is the official welcome center and tourism hub for the City of Auburn, NY. It serves to shine a light on New York’s equal rights heritage, as well as, the historical, cultural, and entertainment assets the City of Auburn has to offer in a welcoming and educational manner. Learn more: equalrightsheritage.com

City of Auburn Historic & Cultural Sites Commission The mission of Auburn’s Historic & Cultural Sites Commission is to support its designated organizations to achieve their missions through collaborative marketing, programming, and tourism strategies. The vision of the Commission is to position Auburn as the destination of choice in the Finger Lakes through support and promotion of its history and culture. Learn more: visitauburnny.com

Proof Positive A new exhibition presented by the Cayuga Museum of History and Art Proof Positive: Wine, Beer, and Spirits of Cayuga County will explore the history of how wine, beer, cider and spirits are made in Cayuga County. Visitors to the exhibit will explore three themes: history, the process, and the impact. The history theme will explore the Temperance movement and Prohibition in Cayuga County, as well as Prohibition to the present, highlighting the rebirth of the industry through legislation and the current economic impact. The process theme will teach visitors the technical aspects of winemaking, brewing, distilling, and hop production through the stories and objects of local businesses. Learn more: cayugamuseum.org

Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day® Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day® (CBD) is an international celebration of women in the alcoholic and fermentable beverage industry. Each year, teams brew beer in participation of Collaboration Brew Day to help raise funds for Pink Boots scholarships that support our mission to assist, inspire, and encourage the professional development and education of women in our industry. Collaboration Brew Day is a movement that recognizes the impact women have on our industry. Learn more: pinkbootssociety.org

Drink Like a Girl® Drink Like a Girl launched in January 2020 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Women's Right to Vote...and CRAFT BEER! All DLG events focus around craft beer and empowering women while advocating for inclusion and diversity in the craft beer community. Learn more: drinklikeagirl5k.com