ISLAND CITY — Side A Brewing is again celebrating the season with the Dead of Winter brew fest on Saturday, Feb. 24, from 4-10 p.m.

This year’s event, for age 21 and older, is at the new brewery and tasting room, 10705 S. Walton Road in Island City.

Guest taps are lined up from Prodigal Son Brewery & Pub (Pendleton), Terminal Gravity Brewing (Enterprise), Silver Moon Brewing (Bend) and North 7 Brewing Co. (Baker City). Also, a variety of food trucks will be on site.

The fest is free to attend, but tokens or a fest mug are required to taste the brews.

A “starter pack” with a fest mug and two tokens is $10. Individual tokens are $3, and a bundle of six is $15.

Attendees are also welcome to bring a fest mug from previous years, said Caiti Burke, Side A’s event coordinator.

Supporting a cause

As this brew fest has grown in popularity, Burke said Side A wanted to use the event to help support a local organization.

“The owners at Side A have always loved what the Union County Friday Backpack Program does for the kids in our community, so approached them about being our partner for the Dead of Winter fest,” Burke said.

She said 50% of net profits from the fest will be donated to the backpack program, which has the mission to “ensure that elementary school children in the county don’t go hungry on the weekends when they may not have access to food through school breakfasts or lunches.”

“We plan on making this an annual partnership, and we want to help give back to this community that has given so much to us, and for us that starts with helping the kids in our community,” Burke said.

Also, she said a representative from the backpack program may be at the fest to answer questions and accept direct donations.