News-Register file photo##Oregon Brews & BBQs volunteer Olivia Scales serves a Silver Moon beer to Leslie Plotts at last year’s festival in McMinnville’s Granary District.
News-Register file photo##Oregon Brews & BBQs volunteer Olivia Scales serves a Silver Moon beer to Leslie Plotts at last year’s festival in McMinnville’s Granary District.
By Starla Pointer • Staff Writer • 

Brews & BBQs on tap

Beers from more than 35 craft breweries will be on tap Friday through Sunday, Sept. 11-13, at the eighth-annual Oregon Brews & BBQs event.

The festival, a fundraiser for GhanaHope and St. James School, also will feature barbecue and other food, live music and children’s activities. It will run from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday; noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday in McMinnville’s Granary District, at Fifth Street and Lafayette Avenue.

Admission is $15, which includes a tasting mug and two beer tickets. Extra beer tickets are $1 each. A weekend pass is $30, which covers a beer glass and 10 tickets.

Children younger than 12 will be admitted free. Kids’ Zone activities will run throughout the festival.

Oregon Brews & BBQs is a family event, said Rosemari Davis, who’s involved with the festival as a representative of GhanaHope.

She said people of all ages come to enjoy the music and atmosphere while sipping beer, hard cider or soft drinks. Friday’s crowd is usually made up mostly of Yamhill County residents. Saturday night and Sunday afternoon draw people from all over the Willamette Valley, northwest Oregon and southern Washington.

Brews & BBQs was started by the McMinnville Habitat for Humanity organization in 2008. After several years, Habitat turned the popular fundraiser over to the two nonprofits that run it now.

St. James School is a private Catholic school offering pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade education. Proceeds go toward scholarships and school expenses.

The other beneficiary, GhanaHope, helps a hospital, medical personnel and a school in Ghana. It sends equipment, supplies and volunteers to the West African country and hosts visits from Ghanian medical personnel.

The foundation didn’t send any medical volunteers to Ghana this year because of concerns about the ebola outbreak in neighboring countries. Davis, former hospital CEO and one of the GhanaHope founders, said a group is set to go in 2016.

Proceeds from Brews & BBQs help pay for shipping fees and traveling expenses for medical missionaries, she said.

Last year, about 5,000 people attended Brews & BBQs. Proceeds were about $25,000, split equally between the two organizations.

About 300 volunteers plan, organize and run the three-day festival. Coordinators Aurora Ronning and Jill Addison lead the almost year-round process of contacting vendors, arranging logistics and planning. A dozen or more other chairpeople are responsible for various aspects of the event.

More volunteers are always needed. For more information, check the website, oregonbrewsandbbq.com. 

Comments

TTT

I understand supporting St. James but why Ghana? Shouldn't we take care of our own community before we send foreign aid to Ghana?

Why don't we exercise the multiplier effect of local independent businesses and buy local with these dollars?

Horse with no name

It's a bigger money maker than bingo and the Ghana part is a simple, here's some medicine and you come to Jesus. It's just a fund raiser to support missionary work here and abroad. What would you do if you were in a third world country, we'd all be singing holy holy holy to get help. Too bad there's always strings attached and the good Christians can't give unconditionally, that would show real charity. I'm always amazed why the religious organizations with the hot line to God, are always strapped for cash. I'm betting that prayer thing doesn't really work, so it's just back to business 101.

Trafik

GhanaHope is a health care-centered organization which seeks to fill in the gaps by providing services, better equipment and supplies, medical training to Ghanaian health care personnel, and empowering the citizens of Ghana to improve their overall health. Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville, Oregon operates as a sister hospital for the hospital in New Abirem, Ghana. A hospital-to-hospital model, the GhanaHope foundation provides necessary medical services such as mammograms and cervical cancer screenings; surgical procedures, subsidized travel for health care personnel, medical training for Ghanaian providers, and medical supplies and equipment. This description is from the organization itself.

While I appreciate the opinion that charitable work should start at home, the bitterness exhibited in the above remark is appalling. You're a happy camper, aren't you Horse?

Horse with no name

Trafik- That bitterness you taste is the truth, and it is bitter. I don't like it either. Lets hope the sister hospital in Ghana does a better job than Willamette Valley Medical Center in McMinnville, Oregon. It's the one that had the record of biggest money maker and a string of comments a mile long from all kinds of different people about the lousy treatment and warnings to go somewhere else, like Providence in Newberg.

Trafik

To roundly condemn an organization simply because it has ties to Christian supporters is both shortsighted and narrow-minded. Every day, hundreds of charitable organizations, many with Christian backing, make tremendous efforts to alleviate suffering all over the globe. Often these efforts involve great risk to those who are performing the work. Ridiculing these efforts from the comfort and safety of your McMinnville (or wherever it is) home paints you in a decidedly tacky light, Horse.

Yes, there are many well-publicized examples of heavy-handed Christians clumsily proselytizing in places and at times they probably shouldn't have. Likewise, there are many outspoken Christians espousing social views with which you undoubtedly disagree. But for every one of those, there are thousands of other Christians who are content to let people live their lives while they quietly try to follow Christ's path, living as examples. Those who denounce the Christian faith without looking at the entire picture are treading close to demagoguery.

Horse with no name

Trafik - demagoguery, really, like "a person, especially an orator or political leader, who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people". Yeah that's what I want power & popularity. I'm not one of your local politicians. What have I said that isn't true? Climb down off that cross for a minute and admit, all the praying for 2000 years hasn't accomplish squat, otherwise why the constant call for donations and free labor. I'll tell you why, cause unethical businesses love tax deductions and free money. Anybody that helps anyone in need for no other purpose than that of helping the other person be in a better place is a truly humane endeavor. Doing it to promote your religion business is just business looking for new consumers and good PR. I get tired of the hypocrisy of doing good so you don't end up in the lake of fire for not promoting the faith. Real charity is the best humans can be. I'd like to see them try it with no strings attached.

Trafik

Let me get this straight, Horse. You think Christians have been praying for 2000 years so that they'll get donations and free labor? You also seem to be of the opinion that churches are unethical businesses which love tax deductions and free money?

You seem to have a profoundly simplistic and limited view of Christianity. I'm not surprised you had to look up demagoguery.

Trafik

A broader point: when one attempts to define an immense topic after examining only a narrow portion of it, one will undoubtedly arrive at a flawed and incomplete explication. If I tried defining the term "government" after researching only the City of Chicago's leadership, I would likely arrive at a different conclusion than had I studied the history, structure and function of our national bureaucracy. Similarly, building an overview of Christianity based on televangelists, fringe sects and the Westboro Baptist Church might result in a skewed denouement.

Has Christianity blundered, erred or even committed egregious sins itself? Of course. Like any endeavor managed by humans, Christianity in practice is bound to misstep on occasion. While some of those missteps are worse than others, damning the entire faith based on a narrowly examined segment is inaccurate and disingenuous.

It's fine to disagree with Christian orthodoxy or to reject it outright if one has done one's homework or if one simply doesn't care. But to do so based solely on emotion and animus -- or sound bites and talking points -- is meaningless.

Horse with no name

Yes we all know about the human foibles, but religious humans claim to have a direct line of communication to God Almighty the creator of the universe. They claim to be guided by that God, so why all the screw ups and abuse that continues to this moment? No other business claims to have those connections, so why do religions get a pass on what they preach and what actually happens in the world. There's a disconnect that people are afraid to voice because the response of the religious is usually violent, you know, because their God told them to.

Trafik

Let me spell it out clearly, Horse: you're defining Christianity by the actions of a very small minority of its adherents. That is akin to defining all African-Americans, Muslims, Jews, Greeks, Swiss, Hispanics, socialists, pacifists, WalMart shoppers -- any large group of people -- by the actions of a tiny percentage of the group's members. For reasonable people of intelligence and circumspection, judging the many by the actions of the few is frankly ridiculous (except for maybe the WalMart shoppers).

The most basic doctrine of Christianity calls for the free choice of individuals: people may either accept or reject it. It's very simple. Most Christians are innately aware that forcing any person to subscribe to Christian beliefs totally defeats its entire purpose. In short, without free will, there is no Christianity.

And when you say "... people are afraid... because the response of the religious is usually violent.." you are simply revealing your complete lack of connection with reality.

Feel free to hate Christians, Horse. That's the beauty of free will. But before you spout off about how horrible Christians are, try to come up with some legitimate reasons that aren't hyperbolic hysteria.

Horse with no name

I never said I hated Christians, it does fall in line with their persecution complex to think that of anyone that disagrees with them. I said "It's a bigger money maker than bingo and the Ghana part is a simple, here's some medicine and you come to Jesus. It's just a fund raiser to support missionary work here and abroad. What would you do if you were in a third world country, we'd all be singing holy holy holy to get help. Too bad there's always strings attached and the good Christians can't give unconditionally, that would show real charity. I'm always amazed why the religious organizations with the hot line to God, are always strapped for cash. I'm betting that prayer thing doesn't really work, so it's just back to business 101." What's not true about what I said and where's the hate?

Trafik

Hate, dislike, disrespect, ridicule, take your pick. Even though the words have different definitions, the net effect is similar.

While we're debating the definitions of words, you are misusing forms of the term "truth," Horse, unless by "true" you mean "highly exaggerated and distorted." To wit:
I don't know a single Christian who believes he or she has a "hot line to God."
I don't know a single Christian who "sings Holy, Holy, Holy to get help."
I don't know a single Christian who believes in giving "some medicine and you come to Jesus."
I don't know a single Christian whose response "is usually violent."
I don't know a single Christian who "can't give unconditionally" or who gives with "always strings attached" outside of perhaps caring where his or her money actually goes, like any normal charitably-minded person of any political persuasion.

But I guess truth can be relative. Or maybe you just know some really wacky nutcase violent people who claim to be Christians. One of us needs to get out more.

miketubbs1

Charitable organizations of all of stripes be they Christian or not hold fundraisers to help fund their projects.

You, Horse, have a choice to either attend event, maybe drink some beer, just eat barbecue or, fully indulge yourself by doing both!

Perhaps you might find some other charitable organization/group holding a fundraiser for whatever cause or goal better suits you, rather than continue to whine about the ones that don't personally approve.

Get a life, Jackass with no name.

tagup

It seems clear that Horse is talking about (religious)organizations and Trafik is talking about individuals...hard to find common ground that way....

Trafik

Does it matter? Since most organizations are shaped/built/defined by their individual members, one could argue there is little difference in the end.

I don't object to Horse's outspoken disdain for Christianity. But I take issue with his/her use of hyperbole and outright absurdity to justify that position.

Horse with no name

Trafik you an ol' Tubbs sure help my point. Kill the messenger instead of answer what's not true about my saying prayer doesn't work and all religious organizations want tax exemptions and free labor and donations to do their work. I'm still waiting for a God fearing soldier to have their legs put back by the miracle of prayer. There's got to be at least one that deserves it, but it won't happen because the story that religion promotes is nothing but a failed hypothesis of our universe. Why can't a Church stand on it's own without everyone's support (tax exempt status)? Why not just say you're a charitable organization, send money and we'll help people? That would actually be wonderful and truthful. The supernatural part is nothing but stories invented to control people for power and profit, that's not wonderful, just a scam.

Trafik

Speaking of points, Horse, you've missed mine entirely. You spout hyperbolic generalizations and over-simplified opinion as fact. You make sweeping claims damning all religious organizations as money-hungry sweatshops. You are entitled to your opinion but don't try to force it on the rest of us by calling it "truth."

When you draw a crude cartoon, don't tell everyone it's a lovely photograph and then badger them when they call you on your nonsense.