More than two dozen brewers are flooding into downtown Bigfork on March 7 for the village’s 17th annual Brewfest.  

Bigfork Innovations Group, or BIG, hosts the event with proceeds going back into several local efforts and other events for the community. Bigfork Brewfest has brought breweries from across Montana to the area every March for 17 years. This year, 28 brewers will be part of the sampling.  

President Darcie Fast said in the past seven years, BIG has given $85,000 back to the community — that includes the Bigfork Ladies Service Club, the Community Foundation for a Better Bigfork, the Bigfork Youth Center, underfunded youth sports teams and food funds at the high school. 

She said the goal is to offer matching donations when the opportunity arises.  

“It’s Bigfork, so if we want something done, we have to do it ourselves. The nonprofits all have to come together and get our library built, our theater parking lot done, our baseball fields for our high school kids — that all comes out of Bigfork’s personal pockets,” Fast said.  

But a big part of BIG’s mission is hosting other events for the community to enjoy. In addition to Brewfest, they host the kids' bike swap in April, Ciderfest in October and the Monday market, which runs every week from Memorial Day through Labor Day.  

Brewfest is the organization’s biggest event, though. Fast said it’s hard to know how many attendees they had last year, but they know it was over 1,300 — because that’s how many sampling cups they had to give out with tickets. It was so busy, Fast said they started handing out plastic cups.  

But she suspects the weather may have had something to do with their good turnout.  

“It was literally the warmest, sunniest, no snow to slip on, no ice to slip on, Brewfest that we've ever had,” Fast said.  

Though there’s no way to know what the weather holds for March 7, Fast keeps checking anyway.  

The event still happens, even on years when the weather has been less than ideal. Fast recalled one year that was so cold, brewers had to continually warm up beer lines to keep them from freezing solid.   

That kind of effort contributes to the village feel that Brewfest brings each winter. Fast said organizers also work hard to make the event family-friendly, so they will give out tokens for free coffee to designated drivers and ice cream tokens to kids in attendance.  

“I know people roll their eyes about Brewfest being a family event, but it really is. So come down to hear the music and wander around, shop our great stores. You just don't get the village feel anymore in the summertime. So this is the one time of year you could come to Bigfork and really feel that again,” Fast said.  

There will be shuttles running from Kalispell and Polson to downtown Bigfork. The “brew bus” will run from SunRift Beer Company in Kalispell. The Polson shuttle starts at Glacier Brewing, then goes to Tamarack Brewing in Lakeside before making its final stop of the crawl at Brewfest.  

The brew buses cost $10 per person and will depart from downtown at 5:30 for their return trips.  

The new bridge provides a secondary drop-off location for the shuttles. Fast said it’s the first time in the event’s history that they would be able to drive buses over the bridge.  

“We're a pretty well-oiled machine at this point for Brewfest, for getting people in. But it's always nice to have a bit of a split-off, and it's kind of like a local place to come in on that side. It’s nice to have that back, for safety purposes as well,” Fast said.  

Food trucks will be lined up on River Street, with The Bad Larrys playing in front of The Montana Scene and Tommy Edwards playing in front of Bigfork Wine and Whiskey, Fast said. 

Attendees will receive a wristband and cup for sampling. In-person tickets can be purchased for $35 at participating local bars and breweries, including Flathead Lake Brewing Company, the Garden Bar and A Sip of Montana, among others. Tickets can also be purchased in advance online for $40, with general admission tickets the day-of costing $45 at the gate, Fast said.  

Go to bigforkbrewfest.com to find a link to purchase tickets online.  

Bigfork Brewfest takes place on Electric Avenue in downtown Bigfork on March 7, from 1 to 5 p.m.  

Reporter Taylor Inman may be reached at 758-4440 or [email protected].