FresYes Fest brings beer, music and food trucks to downtown Fresno

Hordes of beer aficionados and music fans jammed the Tioga-Sequoia Brewing Co. beer garden Saturday in downtown Fresno for FresYes Fest 2017.

Inside they got to enjoy the beer maker’s special brews for the occasion, listen to local bands and eat delicious items from food trucks. The all-ages festival was even dog-friendly. By midafternoon the gray clouds began giving way to a blue sky and sunshine.

Diego Romo, 29, enjoyed that sunshine with his girlfriend during their first time at the festival. The Visalian said he already was planning on returning next year. “It’s a good environment, good beer,” he said.

Romo said they had tried out a few taco trucks and popular brews but had not chosen a favorite. “Not yet, at least,” he said.

Leonela Alvarado, 32, said it also was her first time, and she is excited for next year. “It has potential to be a bigger event,” she said. “More venues, more local breweries; I’m excited because it can grow.”

Last year, the brewery honored then-mayor Ashley Swearengin with her own beer (a strawberry blonde, no less) and drew somewhere in the vicinity of 5,000 people. This year, an ale honoring the 20th anniversary of the Fresno Grizzlies made its debut with $2 from each sale benefiting the Junior Grizzlies, a noncompetitive baseball league for athletes with mental and physical disabilities.

Local bands, including Strange Vine and Amoret, took to the stage throughout the event, which ran from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.

FresYes Fest celebrates Fresno and the revival of downtown, organizers say.

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 4:33 PM with the headline "FresYes Fest brings beer, music and food trucks to downtown Fresno."