Shops 'N Hops Street Festival to be held Saturday, June 8 in downtown Vergas – Detroit Lakes Tribune

DETROIT LAKES — The Vergas Community Club is looking to bring a crowd to the community's downtown all day this Saturday, June 8.

“Shops 'N Hops is coming,” says Sherri Hanson, a member of the Community Club, which organizes the event. “This is our second year on the job.”

The downtown festival on Vergas' Main Street will feature store promotions, craft beer tastings, food trucks and more, all culminating in a free live concert.

“All businesses will be open with specials all day,” Hanson said, adding that MW Pastry, the community’s downtown bakery, will host a pretzel-making class from 2 to 4 p.m.

“Main Street will be closed (to motorized traffic) at 3 p.m., when everything will be out on the streets,” Hanson added. “Many Main Street businesses will have tables set up and craft beer tastings will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m..”

Tasting cups will be available for purchase, costing $25 each, “and then you can go to all the different breweries there and taste their beer,” Hanson said. “We will also have a few food trucks available during this time.”

At 7 p.m., a new event was added to the programming. “We added a band,” Hanson said, adding that they were able to book Twin Cities-based band Pert' Near Sandstone for a free community concert, thanks to a grant from the Lake Region Arts Council.

“It’s like street dancing,” Hanson said. “You can dance to (the music).”

Pert' Near Sandstone, a “nationally known” string group specializing in Americana and Roots music, has a local connection, she added.

“One member, Justin Bruhn, has family ties to Vergas,” she said, adding that “his parents grew up in Vergas” and both of his grandparents were also lifelong residents of the community.

“I think it’s pretty exciting to see a ‘local boy’ come back,” Hanson said. “This group has traveled all over Europe and the United States”

Their musical style is what Hanson describes as “eclectic”, with a sort of “modern bluegrass” sound that is “maybe not something you would normally hear” in rural areas of the northwest. Minnesota.

“It’s a great opportunity to open up to a new type of music, especially since it’s free,” she added with a laugh.

The concert will take place directly on the main street of Vergas and no chairs will be set up – so participants will need to bring their own.

“If people want to sit, they have to bring a chair,” Hanson said, although the Community Club will have a beer garden and food trucks will also be around for a while. The concert is expected to end around 10 p.m.

If it rains, the festivities will be held inside the events center, Hanson added, although of course they're hoping for nice summer weather.

“It’s just a fun kickoff to summer and a way to get people to come and enjoy our stores,” she said.