80 Alcohol Vendors Expected for 4th Beerfest at Ballpark on April 29th
Paul Starr, the ‘I’m A Beer Hound’ festival organizer, expects 4,000 craft beer and spirits afcionados to rally at Cooley Law Stadium from 3-8 p.m. on Saturday, April 29. Sixty craft breweries, seven cideries, five meaderies, three distilleries and four wineries will offer three-ounce sipping samples.
Tickets can be purchased online, at the ballpark ticket office, or on event day. A regular ticket is $30, for 10 three-ounce tas
ting samples. VIP tickets (early entry at 2 p.m.) are $40 and include 15 tasting tickets. Day-of tickets are $35 for 10 tickets. Additional tickets are five tickets for $5. Designated driver tickets are $15.
Live music performances include Delilah DeWylde, 2:30-4 p.m., Lansing Unionized Vaudeville Spectacle, 4:30-6 p.m., and Citizen Zero, 7-8 p.m., all on the main stage. On the acoustic stage, listen to Mark Warner, 2-3:30 p.m., Rachel Curtis, 4-6 p.m., and Shelby and Drake, 6:30-8 p.m.
Food will be available for purchase, as well as access to indoor restrooms. The event takes place rain or shine with no refunds. A portion of the proceeds benefits Lansing Kiwanis Club, Red Ledge Brewers and St. Gerard School Athletics.
Paul Starr’s first creation, ‘I’m a Beer Hound’, in 2010 started out as a mere idea of promoting Michigan craft beers, and has brewed into what Paul currently oversees – a Michigan Beer News Website, Festival Organizer, Life Style Brand, Tour Company and Membership Card.
The story behind how the basset hound became the mascot for the ‘I’m Beer Hound’ logo is Paul has a friend with a basset hound named Marley. Marley didn’t like climbing stairs, but when a beer was put at the top of the stairs, Marley would go up the stairs. Marley loved 
beer! To Paul, that defined what a beer hound was, and the basset hound became the mascot for ‘I’m a Beer Hound’.