Get the blues (the good kind) at Oskar Blues fundraiser - Oct. 20th

Event at craft brewery, Makin’ A Difference Monday: Blues³, will feature bluegrass and Oskar Blues to benefit Blue Ridge Food Ventures; public invited

Feeling the Monday blues? Not when you hop on over to the Oskar Blues Brewery taproom, at 342 Mountain Industrial Dr., in Brevard, on Oct. 20, for Makin’ A Difference Monday, where 10 percent of your purchase benefits a local nonprofit. Held the third Monday of each month, the event combines with the brewery’s weekly Mountain Music Monday, an open, old-time jam for all skill levels, to make the first day of the work-week something to cheer about.

This month’s event, dubbed Blues³, will be an evening of bluegrass and Oskar Blues brews to benefit Blue Ridge Food Ventures, a food and natural products manufacturing facility where artisan food entrepreneurs, farmers, chefs, bakers, caterers, mobile and food cart operators, and natural products manufacturers can find the equipment and resources they need to make and market their creations.

Blues³ (that is, “Blues Cubed”) will include a sampling session from 5 to 8 p.m. featuring products made at Blue Ridge Food Ventures’ shared-use commercial kitchens. Among the tasty offerings: Chili made with ingredients that include Old Chub Scotch Ale, Smiling Hara Tempeh (a Blue Ridge Food Ventures client), and local produce from Winter Sun Farms, the community supported agriculture program operated by Blue Ridge Food Ventures.

In addition, patrons can enjoy samples of 5^th Sun Salsa, made at Blue Ridge Food Ventures, along with homemade ice cream topped with Blue Blaze Syrup, also made at Blue Ridge Food Ventures. Musicians are urged to bring their instruments for the old-time and bluegrass jam.

A free shuttle to the event is available on the Oskar Blues trolley, with pickups at 4:30 p.m. from the Aloft hotel in downtown Asheville, and at 5 p.m. from Biltmore Park, returning when the taproom closes at 8 p.m. Reservations for the trolley can be made by emailing Kathi Petersen at kpetersen@awnc.org by Oct. 15.