5 Reasons to Get Excited for Ore Dock Brewing Company’s 2nd Annual Festival of The Angry Bear!
As the weather in Marquette County is caught in transition between winter and spring, there’s more than one thing warming up in northern Michigan! The second annual Festival of the Angry Bear, a beer, music, food and costume event, is gaining popularity in Marquette and is something you must experience! Our friends from Ore Dock Brewing Company have contributed this awesome blog about five reasons to get excited for this year’s event!
Ore Dock Brewing Co. is gearing up for its 2nd annual Festival of The Angry Bear. Once again, the brewery will partner with Double Trouble Entertainment, Marquette County’s DJ Entertainment company, as they transform the relatively quiet one-way section of Spring Street in downtown Marquette into the ultimate of spring-time revelry. And with a little help from their friends, this year’s fest is shaping up to be even better than the last.
1. More Beer
Alongside the wide array of beer Ore Dock usually offers, this festival showcases its barrel-aged side, specifically the Angry Bear. Nearly a year in the making, some may remember the rather limited quantity in which this sour, brown-ale blend was offered to festival goers last year. This year however, the 2015 edition of the Angry Bear should flow well into the night following a special 5pm tapping. “Both the blending and aging processes involved with this style of beer requires a fair amount of preparation,” explains Ore Dock Liaison Adam Robarge. “We’ve built up a solid storage for this year’s fest and we’ll continue to increase our production with each year that follows.”
Guitar cases sit next to the stage in the upper floor of the Ore Dock Brewing Company in downtown Marquette. Photo: Aaron Peterson Photography
2. More Food
This festival isn’t just about the beer; it’s a seasonal celebration. And any worthy celebration of spring requires a healthy dose of feeding. The Steinhaus has once again teamed up with the Ore Dock as sole food provider of the fest. Building upon last year’s success, the Steinhaus has set out to provide a food selection fit for any sized bear! With options ranging from wursts and giant pretzels, falafel and lamb pitas, to a full meal option of smoked half-chickens with German potato salad, coming out of hibernation will never have tasted so good!
3. More Music
The music lineup will once again be stellar with each act worthy of headlining status. Traveling over a total combined 2,000 miles to perform at this year’s fest are Michael Waite, Oh Brother Big Sister, Mike and The Mutts, Dragon Wagon, and the Scott Pellegrom Trio (SP3). This year, music will ring through the very end of the festival with SP3 closing out the night on Spring Street and Dragon Wagon putting on the finishing touches upstairs in the brewery’s community space. “We have a really wide range of genres this year,” says Ore Dock Booking Agent Anjila Holland. “It’s kind of exemplary of the entertainment types we strive to provide over the course of the entire year.”
4. More Fur
New to this year’s festival will be a judged costume contest in order to crown the King and Queen of Angry Bear. Festival goers are urged to dress up in their favorite forestland creature attire. Ore Dock will have a limited number of ‘masquerade’ masks for purchase, but this alone is not likely to find you as taking part in the coronation. Up for grabs to each winner will be over $100 worth of gift certificates to various downtown Marquette merchants.
5. More Fun
Cubs of all ages are welcome and encouraged to take part in the festivities until 9pm (when the site then becomes 21 and over). Double Trouble Entertainment will be providing life-size renditions of favorite games, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will be giving a presentation on black bears, and the Marquette County Conservation District will be on site with their ‘Pollination Station’ offering a chance to taste some unique honey!
The 2nd annual Festival of The Angry Bear takes place Saturday April, 18th, from 3pm to Midnight. Admission to the event is free of charge. And if the success of last year’s event is any indicator, you won’t want to be left sleeping in your den. “Without question, we’re committed to seeing this festival grow with each passing year,” says Robarge.
For more information on the event, you can contact Adam Robarge at
