I plop onto the worn, faux leather seat and text Day Bracey that I’m ready in the lobby. It’s 7:05 in the morning, and I’ve come to Pittsburgh for the Barrel and Flow Fest. The event is a celebration of Black arts and culture, and includes but is not limited to beer, music, and small businesses. Day, the team, and I have spent the past several sleepless nights trying to get things in place. I flew in the afternoon before, and what’s keeping me going are some incredible beers (like, for actual caloric intake) and people’s good spirits.
It’s not easy to throw a beer festival. Especially during a pandemic. And it’s even harder when the festival includes collaboration beers, a digital component, conference panels, live music, and honestly anything you can think of. All of it. All the good. All the hiccups.
Later, we drive up to the barricade by one of the three stages, and I help him, his partner Cat, and his daughter unload everything we had stuffed into Day’s car like Tetris pieces. I don’t really stop moving after that. By the end of the day, I will have logged about 15 miles of walking between set-up, break-down, and everything in between. In a rare moment of stillness, though—and as I look back later over Fervent Few member Nick Naretto’s photo series from the event—I can see, through the fray, how Day’s vision carries through every interaction, every moving part. It goes beyond beer.
Words by Samer KhudairiPhoto by Nick Naretto