With this yearís theme of ìStrong Community Roots,î the 2022 Black Forest Festival kicked off Aug. 12 featuring the Fourth Annual Black Forest Biergarten fundraiser.The event sold out at 350 tickets and offered beer and adult lemonade from six local breweries: Black Forest Brewing Co., Pikes Peak Brewing Co., Goat Patch Brewing Co., JAKs Brewing Co., Storybook Brewing and Evergood Adventure Wines.Tiffany Coles, festival volunteer, said the Biergarten raised more than $3,000 to support further restoration of the Black Forest Community Center, plus continued recovery of the 4.7 acres of the centerís backyard from the 2013 Black Forest fire. An anonymous participant said, ìEven though they ran out of beer, everyone stayed and danced and had a lot of fun!îSaturday morning started with a pancake picnic breakfast hosted by Ryan Wanner and team from R&R Coffee Cafe and Boy Scout Troop 70.†Live music, demonstrations and childrenís activities were provided throughout the day. There were about 70 parade participants, ranging from classic cars to marching bands to live alpacas. One of the parade entries featured the Black Forest 2022 Keeper of the Keys, Robert and Cherie Erler.Six teams participated in the annual Outhouse Race; Black Forest Ward LDS Youth won first place with Black Forest Brewing Co. coming in second.One of the 85 booths in the backyard area was Harleyís Hope Foundation, based in Black Forest. Cynthia Bullock, executive director and founder of the organization, said it has been several years since they participated in the festival. She said they were able to talk to a lot of people; some who had never heard of them and didnít know a safety net charity existed to help keep pets and their owners together. ìA client we helped 10 years ago when her dog got hit by a car, badly injuring him, stopped by to reconnect and let us know that he is still alive,î Bullock said. ìItís always nice to hear that the charityís efforts have had a profound impact over the last 12 years.îThe Backyard Market in Black Forest attended for the first time; they set up camp across the street in the Black Forest Community Church parking lot and yard with 45 vendors and four food trucks.Colorado Camp Fire Coffee, one of the four food trucks, opened early to serve vendors. Corey Cantrell, his wife, Anissa, and his brother, Jacob, run the coffee trailer. ìOur busiest time was the morning with one of the highest hourly sales reported,î he said. ìWe sell smoothies year-round, which is great for families with kiddos; we sold a lot of smoothies on Saturday.î Cantrell said they didnít get to check out the rest of the festival because they were so busy. ìThis was our first time at the festival, and we saw a lot of new faces. Festivals like this are what brings together community, helps local business and supports the growth of our local economy,î he said. ìI think it was well worth it, and we would definitely participate again for sure.îColes said they think around 5,000 people attended. ìWe also had so many fantastic and helpful volunteers; we could not have a festival without the support of our 24 sponsors and volunteers,î she said.
