Benjamin Franklin said it best: “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” If you believe that, then God was thrilled with the Town of Castle Rock yesterday when Maddie’s Biergarten threw a fantastic event: Maddiepalooza 2015. Featuring 14 breweries, five food vendors, and six bands, it was yet another lively and unique event put on in Castle Rock to bring the town together for a great cause.
The inspiration for Maddiepalooza was to support Miles for Tuesday, a charity in memory of Tuesday Whitt, a local 2 year old girl who sadly lost her battle with neuroblastoma in 2009, the most deadly and underfunded of pediatric cancers.
Her family had been regular customers at Maddie’s Biergarten, so the owners wanted to have a fundraising event to support their charity, which raises money to help pediatric cancer at Children’s Hospital Colorado Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. An idea turned into reality, and Maddiepalooza was born.
Maddie’s was able to block off all of 3rd street between Wilcox St. and Perry St., in order to accommodate the crowd…and boy was it packed. Drink tickets were sold at 3 separate booths, $6 each or 11 for $60, in order to save time at all the brewery vendors.
Breweries from all over Colorado set up booths, from Pikes Peak Brewing and Dry Dock Brewing to Rockyard Brewing and Upslope Brewing. If you are a fan of hops, this was definitely the place to be, as there were several different kinds of beer from so many vendors, all donating a portion of sales to Miles for Tuesday. In addition, Maddie’s was open with their plethora of Colorado craft beer.
The food selection was impressive as well, with 5 booths offering an eclectic mix of different cuisine. I chose B-Man’s BBQ, a new catering company run by locals who know how to make some serious BBQ.
ADD kicked in when deciding what to order, so it was decided to try several of what they had to offer: brisket, pulled-pork sandwich, ribs, and their amazingly delicious extra-hot barbeque sauce. All 3 were winners, and we should hope to see them around Castle Rock more.
My gluten-free husband chose street tacos from Lange Bräu-casa, which were equally delicious. For dessert, we couldn’t go wrong with Ooey Gooey Cupcakes, or more beer of course.
The best part of the night was the vibe of the live music. There were 2 stages, one at Maddie’s in their outdoor patio, as well as a main stage right on 3rd St, featuring bands like The Samples and Trivial Psychic.
There were VIP tables in the middle of the street that were reserved ahead of time and for a price: $200 VIP reserved a table with 8 chairs; AMAZING VIP was $500 and it reserved a table with 10 chairs AND a server to your table…a really nice option for next year if the budget allows, and all of course going to the cause.
It was also suggested on the Maddiepalooza Facebook event to bring lawn chairs, blankets, umbrellas, sofas, etc. For those who didn’t, we were left to stand, which is okay when listening to live music and drinking beer, but not so great when trying to eat dinner.
If you weren’t able to come this year, we strongly suggest making an appearance next year, as this was my favorite Castle Rock event of the year. Standing up to cancer with beer, food, and live music? We can all drink to that…cheers!
