Hey team!

We are getting really excited for this weekend! The tents are up, the beer orders are coming in, our t-shirts are looking sharp and the forecast is calling for some epic beer-drinking weather!

Here’s a few notes and reminders for you before your set out for the weekend:

• COVID Vaccine Cards Upon check in, you must present your ID and Covid Vaccine Card with your ticket to enter. A partial vaccine card is valid with a negative Covid test from with 48 hours of arrival at SIP. A negative test on its own is not valid for entry. More info here. Ideally we’d like the actual card in hand. Thanks.
• Kids not age-eligible for the vaccine are welcome to attend with a Visitor Ticket (see below) But please remember kids who can run around on their own must have their masks on at all times.
• Visitor Tickets Due to new state laws Kids & Designated Drivers need to purchase Visitor Tickets for $5 or more and can no longer attend for free. This isn’t some attempt on our part to make more money – we don’t want to charge you! So instead, we are giving these tickets sales to the Stark Mountain Foundation. Upon check-in ask about Visitor Tickets and our crew will take care of you. The same COVID vaccine requirements apply to visitor tickets. More info here.
• Bring cash for food and merchandise! There is NO ATM onsite and wifi is usually good, but it can be spotty.
• Bring sunglasses and sturdy footwear! It will be a lovely day, but it’s a ski area so there are “snow snakes” everywhere, just waiting to trip you up! 😉
• Reminder: the MRG Base Lodge will be closed to the public. We have extra portolets, and they are the nicer flushing units! But yes, the Stark’s Pub, inside bathrooms and the whole building will be closed.

Schedule:

• 12:30pm Ticket check in will start (if not earlier)
• 1pm Gates open! Lowell Thompson plays, Food from Micheal’s Good to Go & the MRG Snack Shack, HopShop Retail booth opens, Raffle tickets available from Stark Mountain Foundation
• 3pm Ragged Company plays
• 4pm Raffle drawing, Team Photo
• 4:45pm Last Call – keep an eye on the time because we don’t announce this!
• 5pm – Event Over

Other things to do in the area over the weekend:

• Waterbury Arts Fest – This is a super fun event that usually takes place in July, but not this year! Check out their block party with live music, a beer tent and food trucks on Friday night. And Saturday before you head to SIP, swing by their Arts Market with almost 100 area artists selling really cool gifts of all kinds! While you’re in the ‘hood, stop at our sponsor Craft Beer Cellar for the best selection of craft beer in the area!
• Eat & Drink – there are some really great places in the valley to check out while you’re here! You can stop at our Sponsor Mehuron’s Supermarket and check out the offerings in their badass deli and stock your beer fridge while you’re there. Or grab some food from the Mad Taco, Stoke Ramen, Pizza Soul or Canteen Creemee Co. You can go across the way to Worthy Burger Too and Collaborative Brewing before or after you catch the shuttle to SIP! Or you can walk down the road to Lawson’s Finest, The Big Picture and Eggs & Toast. So much to eat & drink… so little time. Click here for more info.

Buying/Selling SIP Tickets We are now sold out and are no longer issuing refunds. For anyone trying to sell tickets, post to our Facebook invite or to other forums. Please exercise patience if you haven’t sold them yet – we know people are looking for tickets. https://www.facebook.com/events/212444780822767/

Thanks everyone for your continued support over the years, and your patience and understanding this year! It has been a tough 18 months to be in the events industry, but we are glad to be back at it. We hope our COVID protocols help you all feel safe while drinking a bunch of great beer on a beautiful afternoon at SIPtemberfest, this Saturday!!!

See you soon!
Cheers,

Team SIP

Just a quick follow up about our last post:

1. Big shout out to everyone who sent us positive messages regarding our COVID vaccine requirement. It was so unexpected but we greatly appreciated hearing support for this decision. You all get really excellent beer karma for your kind words! Thank you!
2. Don’t worry, we are not considering cancelling our event. We were gutted to hear that our colleagues at Oktoberfest in Burlington decided to cancel. We know they didn’t arrive at that decision without a great deal of thought and that they only had the best interests of their staff and attendees in mind. But their event is different from SIP. We are confident in our COVID Protocols and feel our event size makes things very manageable. So unless some governing body puts the kibosh on us, we are planning for a safe and fun environment for you all to drink beer and let your guard down a little!
3. We have updated our COVID Protocols to include some significant changes for this year: the base lodge will be closed to the public including bathrooms, we will forgo using our wooden tokens this year to reduce ‘touch points” and we will have sanitation stations set up so you can rinse your glasses between samples. Click here for details.

And now back to business!

SIPtemberfest is sold out! This means that if you want to sell your tickets, either because you aren’t vaccinated or for other reasons, you can sell your tickets directly to hopeful attendees on our Facebook Invite or other forums. If you aren’t able to sell them, you can contact us after the event, but we make no promises on refunds.

We are still looking for some more volunteers! With some extra layers of safety this year, we could use a few more hands on deck. If you would like to join our team, sign up today! Our crew is super fun to work with and once your job is done, you can rock your sweet new SIP t-shirt while sipping tasty beers and eating nommy food with your new friends!

Designated Drivers & Underagers are allowed to come but two things: 1.) Due to a new state law, they will now have to pay for an entry ticket. The Stark Mountain Foundation will be selling these by $5+ donation at check in on the day-of. 2.) Under ordinary circumstances we welcome anyone who wants to come hang out and not participate in the tasting. But this year, please consider not bringing your kids if they are 12 or younger. If they do come, they will need to be accompanied by an adult and wear their masks at all times. If your kids are old enough to be running around but can’t keep their masks on, they – and you – will be asked to leave. Our goal is to just keep everyone safe! Thanks for understanding and exploring alternatives to bringing your kids to SIP this year. Click here for more info.

PARKING LOT ALERT! You know how rough Route 17 has been the last couple years? Well good news: they are repaving it right now! The bad news is that there will be a giant pile of material in the main MRG parking lot and the upper loop will be filled with construction equipment and vehicles. This means we probably only have about 80% max of the lot to park in. SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE CARPOOL OR TAKE OUR FREE SHUTTLE! We have about 6 seats left on our Waterbury Shuttle and our second lap of the Waitsfield Shuttle. If you didn’t sign up when you purchased your tickets but would like to sign up now, contact us and we will take care of you.

Food & Entertainment Update This year’s music line up witll feature Lowell Thompson at 1pm and Ragged Company at 3pm. And nommy food will be available from Michael’s Good To Go & The MRG Snack Shack.

Dear SIPtemberfest Family,

If you want to attend SIPtemberfest, you’re going to have to show proof that you have completed your COVID vaccination. [Full Stop]

I’m telling you now so you have time to make plans accordingly. Snap of photo of your vax card just in case you forget it at home. Make an appointment to get your vaccine if you haven’t already, or, for the first time in SIPtemberfest history, contact me if you just can’t handle getting your vaccine and I will issue you a refund.

For more details, see our COVID Protocols page.

I’m telling you truthfully: if COVID numbers keep growing, if people keep digging in their heels when they are asked to think of their community and not themselves, then you can start kissing events like SIPtemberfest and more goodbye. Small operations like mine were the first to close down and the last to open back up and we probably won’t survive it again if that’s what it comes to. If you really want things to ‘get back to normal’ then let’s really do it. Let’s get back to trusting in science and being respectful and responsible community members. Let’s get back to bickering about important things, like whether lactose or glitter in beer should even be a thing!

If you’re like most people I know and you’re vaccinated, then awesome! This is no big deal. All you have to do is bring your card with you when you check in. Maybe make it the home screen on your phone!? I doubt I’ll be the only business asking for this proof so just stuff it in your wallet and get used to having it on your person.

If you haven’t gotten your vaccine, it’s time man. It’s time.

Finally, if this has triggered you and you’re just chomping at the bit to make rude, passive aggressive comments accusing me of being “political” or “afraid,” please save your breath. I have zero time to field those kinds of comments so they will be ignored and deleted.

On behalf of the entire SIP Team, thanks for your continued support and please make good decisions! We look forward to safely sipping beer with you in September!!

Cheers,

-Meg