Raise a Glass

Hops in Humboldt Celebrates 20 Years…

Hops in Humboldt is celebrating its 20th anniversary at the end of this summer, giving beer lovers (and their sober drivers) the chance to eat, drink and be merry in one of Humboldt’s biggest events of the year.
It all started in 2003 in Fortuna when a group of directors was given a $1,000 grant from the Fortuna Business Improvement District to organize a new event that would draw people to the area. The rodeo and Fortuna Redwood AutoXpo were already in place, and the directors caught word that a beer festival in Arcata was ending.

“We noticed that Eel River was a big brewery right here in Fortuna, so we did a lot of collaboration with them to put the first Hops in Humboldt on,” says Hops in Humboldt President Tina Taylor.
After a year of planning and partnering with the philanthropic Epsilon Sigma Alpha and the Fortuna Rotary, the first Hops in Humboldt event was held near the playgrounds at Rohner Park the following year.

“We had around 200 attendees and 10 to 12 breweries. It was a little teeny thing,” Taylor says. Offering 4-oz. pours of craft beers, artisan vendors and live music with a bluegrass theme, that teeny thing quickly became something much bigger.

“Each year our attendance doubled, tripled, and by year five it got to be too much – thousands of people were coming,” Taylor says. Organizers soon incorporated Hops in Humboldt into a nonprofit and moved it into a larger area of Rohner Park where they could fit at least 3,000 people.

Around 20 crafts vendors, six food trucks and two to four live bands are slated to be at Hops in Humboldt’s 20th anniversary. Epsilon Sigma Alpha will once again be serving up their Indian tacos, and local favorites Cap’s Food Shack, Big Island Kine, Nou Nou’s and Dominick’s Tacos will be selling ramen, poke, Mexican fare and more.

“We had a bluegrass theme the first year when we started, and did a radio promotion one year where bands played their favorite beer songs. A rapper won the gig,” she smiles. “It’s something different every year.”

Over the years, Hops in Humboldt has also given away more than $300,000 worth of grants. “We give tons of stuff to schools, sports teams, senior programs, animal shelters, the police, parks and recreation,” Taylor says. They have given away $27,000 in scholarships since 2017.

A nod could also be given to Hops in Humboldt for the beautiful planters on Fortuna’s main street, and not only does the event support local breweries, but the committee is feeding the local economy by using Fortuna vendors for its event costs. “We put brewers up in the hotel, use local printing companies for our merchandise, use the local party store for our tents, buy pizza for the vendors. We’re using everything we can to put back into the businesses,” Taylor adds. “We put money back into the community by doing the event and then give back to the community with the proceeds.”

One of the biggest improvements of Hops in Humboldt over the years is in creating solid relationships with local transportation companies to get attendees to and from the event safely. “The Redwood Transit System runs shuttles just for Hops in Humboldt that day,” Taylor says. One year they filled up five or six city buses with beer aficionados, offering free rides to and from the event from Fortuna to McKinleyville.
Taylor also goes out and counts the cars in the parking lot the day after the event and is relieved to see anywhere between 75-125 left over, indicating that those who enjoyed too many 4-oz. tasters opted for a safe ride home. Hops in Humboldt also offers a special Designated Driver ticket that provides access to the event and nonalcoholic drinks.

“Our transportation partnerships are huge,” she says. “It’s impressive how many people take some the transit. Bus drivers request to work that day because people are in the best mood. They are singing on the bus, laughing, having a good time. It’s a fun crowd,” she says.

The 20th Hops in Humboldt will be held August 24. “It’s been a crazy ride for 20 years, from where we were to where we are now. I’m hoping to see a lot of people out here. This is kind of the last festival of the summer for a lot of people, and we always have great weather.” •

Hops in Humboldt • August 24
Rohner Park, Fortuna • www.hopsinhumboldt.com