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LEWISTON — Saturday: sunny and 72? It’s the perfect day for a brew. 

Sunny skies, comfortable weather and plenty of beer are on tap for Baxter Brewing’s second annual Great Falls Brewfest this weekend, featuring 33 breweries from Maine and across the nation.

Doors are set to open at 1 p.m. at Simard-Payne Memorial Park. Organizers say they’ve already sold more advance tickets than last year and are optimistic more than 2,000 people will attend. 

“Seeing everyone come together from the community is cool,” Baxter Marketing Director Adrienne Nichols said. “People take pride it’s happening in Lewiston.” 

Nichols said the festival will be more compact than last year’s, making it easier to walk among tents and skirt a large dirt patch. 

“Things will be tighter so you don’t have to walk 3 miles to find a food tent,” Nichols said.

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A $40 ticket will buy a 4-ounce glass and unlimited pours from more than 100 kinds of beer. A $60 VIP ticket grants early admission and exclusive access to a list of special brews. All tickets cost $5 more at the door.  

Over half of the breweries will be Maine favorites, including Allagash, Bissell Brothers, Shipyard and Rising Tide, with national companies such as Massachusetts-based Samuel Adams, Sierra Nevada, Smuttynose and Stone Coast Brewing also pouring beer.

Don’t feel like drinking beer? A $20 ticket will gain designated drivers entrance to a tent serving non-alcoholic drinks. The sodas and ciders are mostly from local companies, with the inclusion of a fruit drink company started by Bob Marley’s family, a line of all-natural beverages named Mellow Mood. 

Patrons migrating for a well-deserved beverage break will be greeted with a diverse food lineup, including spicy burritos, chocolate tacos, gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pizza. Per the breweries’ sustainability ethos, all of the paper, plates, napkins and other trash will be recyclable. 

Blaring tunes on a nearby stage, veteran Maine performer Spencer Albee will open for the band The Alternative Routes, and in the field will be a graffiti artist spray-painting large murals, disc golf games and cornhole. Local vendors will sell jewelry, T-shirts and pottery, among other things. 

The festival has met some last-minute setbacks with two breweries pulling out, including Lewiston’s newest and as-yet-proposed Bear Bones Beer. Co-owner Eben Dingman said his Lisbon Street brewery isn’t ready for its premiere and hopes to be open by Labor Day. 

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“I’m disappointed, but I’ll be there enjoying it, anyway,” Dingman said. 

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For more information on the Great Falls Brewfest or to buy tickets, visit greatfallsbrewfest.com.

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