Photo by Howard Owens.
After years of wanting to host a memorable event to connect the Eli Fish Brewing Company name to this community’s fun-spirited nature, it looks like this will be the year, brand manager Kaeli LaFrance says.
The Fish Race will commemorate the downtown brew restaurant’s sixth anniversary and pit up to 16 teams of four people each in a silly relay foot race around the block of Jackson Square on March 23.
“They are teams of four, and one has to be a woman. They will pass a fish they have to carry with both hands, so we’re thinking it’s a giant salmon. We want people to come out and celebrate with us. It’s one big day we want to celebrate with the community and help us with our growth and a salute to years to come.
“A fish race is something the owners have wanted to do for years. Since they hired me this year, they said, ‘We want to do this.’ And it's been crazy, but it's going to be so worth it the day of,” LaFrance said. It’s part of the gag joke, this silly thing. We’re a brewery, and it’s something that’s fun and different. We plan on doing it every year. Next year, we can expand from it.”
Each team has to pass off the fish to its members at relay points on the route from Jackson, School and Center streets with Jackson Square being the central landing zone.
Beats and Beers will feature DJ Lagerhythms — and head brewmaster — Adam Burnett beginning at 2 p.m. on the patio, and the race is set for 4 p.m. There will be five heats, and the fifth heat will put the finalists against one another for the grand prize of four Mug Club memberships for the 2024 season.
The entry fee is $40 per team and includes eight drink chips and team T-shirts.
There will be live music inside Eli, with Josh Hawkins from 2 to 4 p.m. and Grizzwoode from 5 to 7 p.m. The DJ will be in the Square for the day as long as people want to hang out, she said.
Teams can sign up online and will be accepted up to the day of event, up to a maximum of 16 teams.
Also, on that day, Eli will feature a Custom Charcuterie Class & Beer Pairing from 1 to 3 p.m. It's the “ultimate gourmet experience” of a guided custom grazing board with Cheese by April and a brewer at Rusty Nickel. All of the ingredients are “fresh and expertly curated with our craft beer,” and the experience comes with a custom Eli Fish wooden cheese board made by Nickel City Woodworking, LaFrance said.
Tickets for this event are also available at Eli Fish.
