Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
Since the 507 Taproom expanded to its second location in Yelm in 2022, the local business has aspired to grow into a local hub for community conversations and fun entertainment.
On Saturday, July 19, the 507 Taproom and Filling Station, located 608 E. Yelm Ave., will continue its aspirations by hosting the first ever “Brew Fest” from noon to 11 p.m. in its back patio space, which spans nearly a third of an acre.
“We’re excited for our first ever Brew Festival on Saturday. It will start around noon, and we currently have 200 tickets sold. We have 22 breweries, to include cideries, showing up. We’ll have five music entertainers coming, starting at 1 p.m. and ending right around 11 p.m.” 507 Taproom and Filling Station owner Bill DeVore said on Monday, July 14. “We’ve been wanting to do this since we enlarged our patio. It’s almost a third of an acre, and with that patio space and having a 6-foot fence, it makes it easier for us to do events in the back.”
DeVore noted the music lineup will kick off at 1 p.m. with a performance by Emily McIntire, a Yelm High School teacher. She’ll be followed by Lefty Daytona, a musician from Michigan, and then by “Ambiance,” who DeVore described as a local family band.
“We are the Strays” will take the stage following “Ambiance,” and DeVore described the act as one of the most popular bands in Thurston County. Finally, at 8 p.m., the local headliner, Dakota Poorman, will take the stage with his entire band.
“With his full band, he said he can do some more things and not have to worry about playing the guitar all the time,” DeVore said. “He’ll go on the stage around 8 o’clock, and will wrap up around 11 p.m. He’s a local guy, too.”
DeVore said tickets for the event can be purchased at the door or online for $10 cheaper at https://tinyurl.com/507BrewFest on Eventbrite. With the purchase of a ticket, attendees will receive a 5-ounce taster glass to bring home with them, along with six tokens to sample beers from the 22 breweries on site. The breweries will be located on the outdoor patio perimeter.
“With the tokens, you go around and put it into the box of the beer you want to try. Once you get through the six, if you want to purchase more, we can sell you more. A lot of people just do the six and they’re done, and they’ll hang around, eat some food and enjoy the live music. This is a normal system for a brew festival,” DeVore said. “We will have three food trucks here as well, but they will be outside. The Grill will still be open. If you have a ticket for the event, you’ll have to come through the back. If you come through the front, it’s just for seating inside. Anybody who comes to the event that’s in the back has to go outside and come around to the fence. It will be 100% ID checked, too.”
The 507 Taproom and Filling Station is no stranger to live entertainment, as the business has previously hosted comedian Zane Lamprey twice, and has recently tried its hand at outdoor live entertainment, but nothing quite as vast as the upcoming Brew Fest.
“We’re just trying to bring things that Yelm has never seen before. We’ve never had a brew festival in Yelm, and that’s something we’ve always wanted to do. I like trying to be the first one to do that. Same with the (Zane Lamprey) comedy show, and having a big name person come in and perform here,” DeVore said. “A lot of these breweries that are coming in have never been to Yelm. It brings them to our community and lets them see what we provide. A lot of them have never been to our taproom either.”
The business owner added that a full lineup of vendors, breweries, musicians and food trucks will be posted online later this week.
