By Tim Hawk
People plant trees for many reasons. Jon Henderson did it because it didn’t rain.
Anyone who knows Henderson wouldn’t think it’s something he would normally do, but there he was planting a tree in his backyard after experiencing two glorious sun-packed days at the Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival last June.
Consider it a homage to the weather gods for shining down upon the 14,000 beer and music enthusiasts who attended the two-day festival at Bader Field last year.
“I’m not a hippie by any stretch of imagination, but you know what, when we get weather like that, for events, we plant trees,” explained Henderson, the festival’s producer and CEO of Good Time Tricycle Productions. “We just do.”
And he hopes to plant another tree after this year’s festival, which will again be split into two sessions — Saturday, June 3 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m and Sunday, June 4 from noon to 4 p.m.
Approximately 400 different beers will be offered alongside musical acts which include The Dropkick Murphys and 311.
This June will be the third consecutive year the festival will be held outside on grounds of the abandoned airport after moving from its longtime home at the Atlantic City Convention Center.
The uncertainty of the weather, Henderson admitted, is what keeps him up at night. Two years ago ominous clouds rolled over just before the first session and a short rain shower welcomed people to their first beer before a colorful sunset gave way to the starlit night.
Last year the weather was more cooperative as the temperature hovered in the low- to mid-70s for both days.
Henderson said he is proud of what his small company has accomplished in producing one of the biggest festivals in the country and creating economic impact for the city.
“We listen to our consumers, we keep it affordable, we give you products for discovery, we give you an opportunity for a good time,” he said.
The word “discovery” was used to a great extent by Hendrson as he sat in his office going over the line up of breweries while drinking a can of Brew Jersey, by Icarus Brewing.
“Our beer lineup is out of this world,” he said, noting that the festival provides the opportunity for people to step away from their usual beer and sample new ones.
More than 100 breweries, half of which will be from New Jersey, will be scattered across Bader Field pouring their hard work into the mini-glasses of thousands of hop heads.
Collective Arts, from Canada, SweetWater Brewing Company, from Georgia, and Montauk Brewing, from New York, are just a few of the non-Jersey breweries while Dr. Bewlittle’s Beer, from Maple Shade, Farmers & Bankers Brewing, from Woodstown, and Icarus Brewing, from Lakewood, help fill the local card.
Having attainable beer was a priority for Henderson, so people can go on beer adventures and visit the tap rooms of the breweries they discovered at the festival.
“If we can use the festival as kind of a jumping point to go and experience beer where that beer is created that checks a big box for us.”
Discovery isn’t just meant for the beer as 14 musical acts — from local acoustic performers to national touring bands — will be providing the soundtrack for the two sessions.
This year a few different sounds will fill the air from the normal musical vibe associated with the festival.
Henderson explained that they had to “do a pivot” from the pop punk bands because of the Adjacent Festival line up the week before, which booked bands in the same realm the beer festival had for years.
Taking the festival’s main stage Saturday will be Dentist, from Asbury Park, Jesse Ahern, and The Dropkick Murphys, who will close out Session 1.
“I don’t know that there’s a band on the planet that pairs with beer as well as Dropkick Murphys,” said Henderson.
Session 2 will feature the reggae sounds of SensaMotion, from Atlantic City, phoneboy, also from New Jersey, and 311 to end the festival.
To help soak up the beer, 13 local culinary options will be available including Johnny’s Pork Roll, Essl’s Dugout, and a vegan option, Greens and Grains.
And what goes best with beer? That’s right, Girl Scout Cookies. The girls won’t be there slinging cookies but the moms will.
“They pop up and you have to have it,” Henderson said. “You know their flavors.”
For those athletic beer drinkers, running or trotting in the Hops Trot 5K will allow them to beat the Sunday crowd into the festival. The race starts on the Boardwalk at Ocean Casino Resort at 10 a.m. and participants will make eight beer stops on their way to Bader Field.
The future of the festival at Bader Field, Henderson admits, has been on his mind every single day since Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. signed a memorandum of understanding with developer DEEM Enterprise, in March, for a planned $2.7 billion redevelopment project on the 143-acre site which will include condos, stores and a Formula 1 style racetrack.
“I think the city put a lot of event producers at a disadvantage by not coming to people who have curated events on that space that led to economic impact,” he said.
Henderson understands the city’s interest in selling the space and giving the taxpayers a shot in the arm but said he doesn’t believe the concept will work. Instead, one option could be to develop the land for the community and build baseball fields, soccer fields and an amphitheater.
“It could be a common space for celebration.”
His fear is that when all is said and done countless programs that use the space including the Atlantic City triathlon, the Latin Festival, Lunar Faire, and the beer festival will be pushed to the wayside and possibly leave the city.
“We’re having conversations about, what does it look like to go back inside,” Henderson said about the festival.
Tickets are available for both sessions and can be purchased online for $75 plus taxes and fees. Parking on the grounds will be $20.
Henderson said the beer festival — with more than 200 vendors, 400 beers to discover, and several musical acts, including major touring bands, all wrapped up in two four-hour sessions — is a better experience and has more to offer than most concerts in the area.
“I challenge anybody to find an event that has that kind of value on the East Coast.”
Photos by Tim Hawk
Tim Hawk has been a photojournalist for more than 30 years, covering South Jersey and the Jersey Shore. He is also an adjunct professor at Rowan University he teaches photojournalism.
