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SCHEDULE

West Side Tent

4 p.m. Grand Traverse Pipes & Drums

4:10 p.m. Dragon Wagon

5:15 p.m. Grand Traverse Pipes & Drums

6:30 p.m. Laith Al-Saadi

7:40 p.m. Heatbox

8:30 p.m. Funktion

East Side Tent

4:20 p.m. The Crane Wives

5:40 p.m. Grand Traverse Pipes & Drums

6:55 p.m. Rootstand

8:30 p.m. Whitey Morgan and the 78s

Polka Tent

4 p.m. DJ Kiska

4:30 p.m. Kielbasa Kings

6 p.m. DJ Kiska

6:30 p.m. Kielbasa Kings

8 p.m. Grand Traverse Pipes & Drums, DJ Kiska

8:30 p.m. Squeezebox

Silent Disco Tent

4 p.m. DJ Dominate

6 p.m. DJ Wulfpak

7:30 p.m. DJ Dominate

9 p.m. Heatbox with DJ Dominate

Related Photos

  • A trio of microbrews from Brewery Vivant in Grand Rapids. Special to the Record-Eagle

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February 10, 2012

Beer, food, music — and polka?

Microbrew and music fest is Saturday

By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS mdrahos@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — The Traverse City Winter Microbrew & Music Festival returns this weekend with a new Polish tent, brew-infused foods and a new — yet familiar — location.

The annual festival is Saturday, Feb. 11, at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons — home of the event's summer version. It features heated tents, 40 or so breweries, wineries, cideries and meaderies, food, and 15 acts including fire dancers, bands, DJs and a silent disco.

"It's a music festival meets a microbrew festival," said organizer Sam Porter of Porterhouse Productions. "You're getting this whole, full music festival and you're walking around tasting some of the best craft beers brewed in the world. How cool is that?"

A sold-out show by Blues Traveler kicks off the event today, Feb. 10, at the City Opera House downtown. Many of the bands scheduled to play at the festival also will perform today and Saturday at nearby Brew, Union Street Station and The Loading Dock, Porter said.

The main event runs from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday with new and returning breweries like Brewery Vivant, of Grand Rapids. The 1-year-old facility specializes in Belgian-style beer and recently was tapped by Midwest Living as one of the "Top 25 New Places to Stay, Eat and Play."

Owner Jason Spaulding said the brewery will bring some of its popular and specialty beers like Triomphe Belgian India Pale Ale, aged in wooden barrels, and Kludde, a Belgian-style dark ale brewed with green raisins, star anise and dark Belgian candi sugar.

"Certain beers we package in cans and others we brew just in short batches that don't leave the brewery walls," said Spaulding, whose beer is featured at 7 Monks Taproom and also has a local following among outdoor enthusiasts who prefer lighter cans to glass bottles. "But for festivals like this, we bring some of those specialty beers. It's kind of fun to share those new beers that no one up there has tried."

Festival-goers can meet and talk with the brewers and taste limited-edition and select lines of brews and ales from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at a "Hop N' Brew Shack."

Attractions at the Polish tent include beer-infused brats, German ale designed by Frankenmuth Brewing Co., and Polish music by the Kielbasa Kings.

"We really enjoy craft brews," said Kevin Jakubowicz, an accordion player with the five-piece polka, waltz and oberek band from Dearborn. "But this is our first show geared around microbeers."

Marcie Newton, of Grandma's Perogies, will turn out 250 dozen "beer-ogies" that start with her grandmother's pierogi dough recipe and potato, cheese, onion and sauerkraut filling. She'll stuff half of the dumplings with homemade kielbasa from Pat and Buds Grocery in Elmira that has been cooked in Short's Brewing Co.'s specialty Woodmaster beer.

"It's a brown ale fermented with toasted pecans and maple syrup from the Wagbo Farm in East Jordan," said Newton, whose Petoskey business is known for unusual pierogi varieties like whitefish and wild game. "I figured it would be good with the homemade kielbasa. Beer makes sausage taste 10 times better."

Other beer-y food includes North Peak Dubious Stout Double Chocolate Cupcakes created by Adriana's Cakery of Traverse City.

"We reduced Michigan hops down for a florescent green frosting," Porter said. "It smells like a stout IPA cupcake."

The festival attracts between 2,500 and 3,000 people, including an estimated 40 percent from out of town, Porter said.

"Every year that's the biggest growth ... tourism," he said. "And the way we know is that they buy their tickets online so I see their addresses. People are from Flint, Alaska, Wisconsin. They're coming from all over the Midwest and the country. Beer and wine lovers will travel for this kind of thing."

Tickets are $35 at the gate (if available) or $30, plus handling fees, in advance at Oryana, Blue Tractor, Left Foot Charley, Brew and High Five Threads in Traverse City or online at www.portherhouseproductions.com.

They includes five 7-ounce pours, a souvenir tasting cup, entertainment and free shuttle transportation between the Old Town Parking Deck and the festival grounds (three buses will run every 15 minutes from 3:45 to 11 p.m.). Additional drink tokens are a dollar each.

Proceeds will benefit Bay Area Recycling for Charities, a nonprofit that provides recycling services to residents and businesses in the Grand Traverse Bay area.

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