Main Street Greenwood’s second annual Ramcat Rhythm & Brews festival will be held Saturday.
The event features craft and home-brew beer tastings and live music in historic Ramcat Alley in downtown Greenwood.
An added feature this year will be beer dinners, which will be held at Serio’s and Giardina’s. Both restaurants will provide chef-selected courses paired with four New Belgium craft beers.
The beer dinner at Serio’s starts at 5 p.m., and the one at Giardina’s starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 each and should be reserved by 5 p.m. Wednesday. A ticket to the beer dinner also includes admission to Ramcat Rhythm & Brews.
General admission to Ramcat Rhythm & Brews is $20 and includes two beer tokens, a koozie and home brew samples.
Capital City Beverages, the major corporate sponsor, will provide several varieties of craft beer to purchase with the tokens. Live music will be provided by The Tombigbees from 6 to 7:30 p.m. At 8 p.m., the main act, Kudzu Kings, will perform.
For this event, Main Street Greenwood has partnered with the Cotton Row Club to host a drive for needed items at the Ronald McDonald House. For every three items brought to Ramcat Rhythm & Brews, those donating will receive a free beer token.
“Miller, the son of my good friends Taylor and Allison Calhoun, is being treated for leukemia at St. Jude Children’s Hospital,” said Chris Cascio, owner of the Cotton Row Club, located on Ramcat Alley. “Taylor told me that it costs over $2 million per day to operate St. Jude. He then explained to me how important the Ronald McDonald House is for families from far away that have children at St. Jude. Without a place like the Ronald McDonald House in Memphis, they would have to stay in hotels or rent apartments, which is very costly. The Calhouns are fortunate that they are only two hours from home and do not have to spend as much time in Memphis. I felt the need to help the families that don't have that option as a way of giving back for the care and support that my hero Miller has received.”
The Cotton Row Club recently donated money in honor of Miller Calhoun. Shortly after, Cascio received a letter that said the Ronald McDonald House of Memphis has a shortage in its pantry and needs donations, which is why Main Street Greenwood wanted to use the approaching festival that draws hundreds as an opportunity to help the charitable organization.
“Main Street Greenwood is an organization committed to our Greenwood community, and we see this project as an opportunity to help another organization that has been vital to helping a member of our community,” said Brantley Snipes, executive director of Main Street. “We also work hand in hand with all of our Main Street members to help them achieve the highest level of success with projects and promotions, and so it was a no-brainer to help the Cotton Row Club on this.”
The items needed include individual bags of chips, individual boxes of cereal, Pop Tarts, individual sweet snacks, tuna and other canned meats, sugar packets, creamer, Equal, Sweet’N Low, juice boxes, fruit roll-ups and other fruit snacks, individual microwave meals, pasta, pasta sauces and noodles, individual healthy snacks, toilet paper, plastic forks and spoons, paper towels, paper plates and bowls, Clorox or Lysol wipes, liquid hand soap, Swiffer Wet refills (green box), bleach and Walmart and Target gift cards.
Ramcat Rhythm & Brews is a fundraiser for Main Street Greenwood. The proceeds will go toward the facade fund, which helps businesses in the Main Street district preserve or freshen up storefronts.
Main Street Greenwood is seeking home brewers to attend Rhythm & Brews and show off their homemade concoctions. Volunteers also are needed for the event. Home brewers have until Friday to register, which is free of charge. Those who wish to volunteer will not have to pay admission. For more information, contact Snipes at mainstreetgreenwood@gmail.com or at 453-7625.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
