INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – Hundreds gathered at Pointe West Friday evening to enjoy international ales and beer and fine cuisine as part of a two-day fund-raiser to benefit children’s charities in Indian River County.
For the first time, the Indian River County Firefighters Association hosted an International Fest-of-Ale as an addition to its annual Chili Cook-off, which will take place Saturday evening. Looking over the crowd on the lawn, organizer David Dangerfield said the night was going well.
“I am impressed,” he said.
The association took stock after last year’s chili competition got rained out and decided that the group should offer another event. Thus was born the festival of beer, ale and food.
Vero Beach residents Stacy Lloyd and Sam Campbell decided to check out the Fest-of-Ale and said they were happy they had attended.
“It’s something different to do,” Lloyd said. Campbell added that he’d like to see something like this more often.
The pair has different tastes in ale and beer, Lloyd said, noting that the festival had just about everything.
“He likes dark,” she said of the type of beer Campbell drinks. “I like light.”
County firefighter Ryan Krueger said that for the first time out, the festival looked to draw a good crowd. He added that he hopes the association will hold the event again next year and see it grow.
Along with ale and beer, there were samplings of food, including sandwiches, wings, kettle corn, and chocolate.
Vero Beach resident Val Anderson, owner of Bruno’s Chocolate Creations in Fort Pierce, brought hundreds of chocolates to the festival, offering milk, dark and white chocolate morsels.
Her daughter, Christen Brewer, and son-in-law, are fire medics who work for Indian River County Fire Rescue.
“It is fabulous,” Anderson said of Friday’s event. The crowd was apparently ravenous for her double chocolate truffles, of which she brought a couple hundred.
A little more than two hours into the event, she ran out.
Dangerfield said that all the money brought in from the Fest-of-Ale and Fine Cuisine would be donated to various groups. Those groups include Childcare Resources of Indian River County, Hibiscus Children’s Center, the Vero Beach High School Band, and a couple Cub Scout troops. {igallery 90}
