10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
DARKNESS
RISES
Pay some attention to the wizards
behind the curtain at Fort George
Brewery’s Festival of Dark Arts
By DON FRADES
FOR COAST WEEKEND
B
ehind closed doors at the Lovell Show-
room, the scene is almost set for a
post-apocalyptic Emerald City, the out-
come of a yearlong creative process carried
out by Andee Gowing and Gad Perez.
The fanciful, imaginative installation involv-
ing a stage, backdrops and props is always a
much-anticipated part of Fort George Brewery’s
Festival of Dark Arts, a stout-lovers’ showcase
billed as “a magical menagerie of dark art and
macabre entertainment.”
As of this writing, tickets for the Festival, tak-
ing place Feb. 17, have, unfortunately, sold out.
But! At noon the following day, Sunday, Feb.
18, the Fort George campus will reopen to the
public for The Aftermath, with new stout releases
in the pub and pizzeria. Meanwhile, the tap trailer
will be filling growlers from the surviving Festival
kegs, according to press materials. No tickets or
reservations are required for The Aftermath, which
features a number of new beers, as well as music
by The Builders and the Butchers at 8 p.m. (no
cover).
Part of Fort George’s celebration of Stout
Month, the festival weekend is nominally about
beer — more than 60 on tap — but the themat-
ic intertwining of dark beer and dark arts has
strengthened over the years, combining music, art
and craftsmanship.
COURTESY GAD PEREZ
Bewitching installation
artists Gad Perez, left,
and Andee Gowing at the
2015 Festival of Dark Arts