Beer garden to roll out the barrels earlier this summer

Port Washington’s expanded beer garden will open the 2018 season on Saturday, when the Port Food Pantry will host the event in Upper Lake Park.

The beer garden will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays from July 7 to Oct. 20 — except for Fish Day on July 21 —  in the Lions Centennial Pavilion in Upper Lake Park.

In the past, the beer gardens started in August, but residents asked that they open earlier, Recreation Director Kiley Schulte said.

There were also more civic and community groups who wanted to host the beer garden than there were time slots available, she said.

“We’re branching out to more groups to give back to the community and to the parks,” Schulte explained. “This is an opportunity for all these groups to fundraise.”

A different community group hosts the event each week. Each group adds its own personality to the beer garden by offering a unique variety of beers, sodas, food and entertainment.

“I think some of the new groups are very excited to be part of it and they’re being very creative with it,” Schulte said.

For example, the Firefighters Association plans on bringing in a converted fire truck with beer taps on the side, she said.

This is the fourth year for the beer gardens, which have realized their goal of becoming a place where the community gathers and gets to know each other, Schulte added.

The community groups hosting this year’s beer gardens are: the Port Washington Food Pantry on July 7; Shipwreck Education and Preservation Alliance, July 14; Port Main Street Inc., July 28; Veterans of Foreign Wars, Aug. 4; Leatherneck Club, Aug. 11; Be3, Aug. 18; Port Lion’s Club, Aug. 25; Greater Port Washington Kiwanis Club, Sept. 1; United Way of Northern Ozaukee, Sept. 8; Port Washington Rotary Club, Sept. 15; Friends of Port Washington Parks and Recreation, Sept. 22; Port Washington Chamber of Commerce, Sept. 29; Firefighters Association, Oct. 6; St. John XXIII Men’s Club, Oct. 13; and Port Washington Environmental Planning Committee, Oct. 20,