Having outgrown the 17-year-old annual “Arts Alive” festival, this weekend (Aug. 25-26) the Town of Ocean City in conjunction with the Art League of Ocean City is premiering Art X, a larger affair that’s inclusive of all kinds of art. The two-day festival will feature artists displaying and selling their work around Northside Park, plus live music, activities, workshops and film screenings.
Craft beer is another feature added to this year’s lineup. For the first time ever, a Shore Craft Beer Garden will provide locally-brewed craft beers in Northside Park throughout the duration of the festival.
Celebrating “the art of craft” with a focus on Shore breweries, tasters and full 16 oz. glasses will be available with beer from 3rd Wave (Delmar, DE), Big Oyster (Lewes, DE), Burley Oak (Berlin, MD), Evo (Salisbury, MD), Fin City (Ocean City, MD), Mispillion River (Milford, DE) and Tall Tales (Parsonsburg, MD). Yuengling and wine will also be available under the beer garden tent.
“Craft beer, like food, is an expression of the artistry of the brewery or chef,” said Shore Craft Beer CEO Ann McGinnis-Hillyer. “There’s nothing more local or more artistic than the beers created here on the Shore.”
Creating the perfect craft beer, especially one that’s unique enough to compete in such a large and ever-expanding market, takes great amounts of passion, creativity, knowledge and skill from the brewers in the same way that chefs need such qualities to compete in a tourist town’s highly-saturated restaurant scene. Beers from the Shore’s breweries that will be represented at Art X reflect all of those qualities and then some.
All beers at the Shore Craft Beer Garden will cost $5 for a 16 oz. glass, or $5 for three tasting tickets that can be redeemed for three 4 oz. tastes of any three beers.
The variety of craft beers available during the weekend of Art X pair perfectly with artistic exploration, strolls through Northside Park and the sounds of The Original Wailers, who will be performing onstage at the park Saturday at 8 p.m.
“We’re excited for the future [of the festival],” said the Art League of Ocean City’s Executive Director Rina Thaler. “It’s going to grow over the years, and it’s going to be great for OC and for getting the community involved.”
