Lacey festival Brats, Brews and Bands won’t happen this September. Here’s why
As summer draws to a close, one community event won’t be there to send it off.
Brats, Brews and Bands, an annual fundraiser hosted by Gateway Rotary of Thurston County, has traditionally been held the weekend after Labor Day. But the service organization has permanently replaced it with a golf tournament. The new event — termed Bunkers, Birdies and Balls — stuck with the alliteration, and took place earlier this month.
Beginning in 2013, the original BBB was known for featuring bands alongside great bratwurst and craft beers, ciders and Washington wines. Funds raised went to different organizations focused on youth in Thurston County. In its prime, it drew a crowd of about 8,000, said Nathan Magee, Gateway Rotary president.
The event has had its ups and downs over the years, was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 and another time last year after it became clear there would not be enough time to pull off a quality event. Though a Facebook post from September 2022 indicated 2023 plans were in the works, there are no longer plans for a revival, Magee said.
Over the last few years, Magee said the original BBB became logistically unsustainable. In 2021, more than 100 volunteers made the festival possible, manpower that was difficult to find this year. More than that, the event was becoming too costly.
“The amount of effort we put into it required a lot more capital put into the project and a lot more partnering with larger organizations,” Magee said. “We barely broke even the very last time.”
A lot of revenue generated from the original BBB would go back into funding the next festival, he said. As the Rotary searched for alternatives, a volunteer with experience in golf suggested hosting a tournament instead. In a span of four months, the entire tournament came together, and was more successful than the original BBB, he said.
Brats, Brews and Bands generated anywhere between $15,000-$20,000. In its first year running, the tournament generated about $20,000. Manpower needs were much lower as well, with 19 volunteers running the new operations.
But Gateway Rotary acknowledges that Bunkers, Birdies and Balls does not provide the same sense of community. Its capacity this year was limited to 160, and about 120 players took part. But Magee said that at its core, the events are still trying to achieve the same thing: giving back to the larger community.
The Rotary is currently partnering with the City of Lacey to replace playground equipment in Bush Park, a project that needs plenty of funds, Magee said. The golf tournament’s early successes mean it’s here to stay.
“We definitely missed (the original BBB), missed doing it, missed having an event that brought the community together,” he said. “But we’re still out there, we’re still volunteering and we’re still fundraising for the community.”
