Beer enthusiasts flocked to Royal Palm Pointe for the sixth annual Florida Craft Brew and Wingfest last Saturday, where more than 12,000 people ate and drank their way from one end of Royal Palm Pointe to the other during the family-friendly event hosted by the Sunrise Rotary Vero Beach Club.
“It’s grown so much that this year we’ve had to expand the footprint of the festival,” explained event co-chair Arthur Hodge. “To accommodate all of the parking we had to add water transportation from Riverside Park several years ago.”
“It takes us a year and about 300 volunteers to plan and execute an event this large. This should be called the Paul Dritenbas Craft Brew and Wingfest,” said Hodge, crediting the event’s founder.
This year 18 wing vendors, a mixture of restaurants and individuals, put their best wings forward to vie for the title of Best Wings. A panel of city employees had the difficult task of judging the enhanced fowl, which included everything from peach habanero and avocado mustard to toasted rosemary and traditional Buffalo wings.
City Manager Jim O’Connor, who has been a judge at all six festivals, said, “This was a very good set of wings. I think the quality keeps getting better every year.”
“The event brings the community together and utilizes the park,” O’Connor continued. “I think this is what they had in mind when the Pointe was designed. To see this many people at Royal Palm Pointe through the commonality of wings and beer is great.”
The Chef’s Award in the Restaurant Division went to Hurricane Grill & Wings. Rick’s Chick’s won top Individual Division honors, and Hodge Podge received this year’s Spirit Award. The People’s Choice Award was presented to Creative Pest Management for their spice injected wings.
“We’ve been here all six years and placed or won,” said Brett Hall, Creative Pest Management owner. “It’s the love that we put into the injection sauce that makes our wings so good. We started doing this because it was a good way to promote the company. We are still doing it because we love the Rotary.”
Six men bellied up to the bar for the Wing Eating Contest, with Allen Carey consuming just over one pound of wings in three minutes to take home the title.
Brew-loving festival-goers took advantage of tasting bracelets that gave them unlimited beer samplings of more than 200 craft beers and a selection of wines from Varietals and More.
The Rotarians added a Root Beer Tasting contest for the under-21 crowd, and seven underage connoisseurs of the sassafras elixir dubbed Stewart’s to be the best. And at the homebrew competition, which took place at last week’s VIP Pre-Fest Party at Walking Tree Brewery, Eric Carson from Red Buoy Brewers won for his Sea Glass Helles.
Adding another element to the beautiful day of food and fun in the outdoors, the Jacks Band, Southern Exposure, Dave Scott & the Reckless Shots and Jeff Vitolo & the Quarter Mile Rebels provided entertainment throughout the day on stages at each end of the pointe.
Event co-chair Buck Vocelle shared that they netted about $70,000 last year, adding, “If the crowds are any indication, this year we expect to exceed last year’s profits.”
Proceeds benefit the projects of the Rotary, which support 58 community projects and scholarships.
“The Rotary is a unique philanthropy organization because 98 percent of our funds go toward the actual projects,” said Kevin Anderson, club president.
