Brews & Bubbles at the Greensboro Science Center

By carolinianweb on April 6, 2016 • ( 0 )

Ray Dumas/ Flickr

Shannon Neu
A&E Editor

Lovers of science and alcoholic beverages will have the chance to gaze at meerkats, learn about dinosaurs and sip on delicious samplings of beer, wine and hard cider during the Greensboro Science Center’s second Brews & Bubbles event on April 23. Guests (who must be 21 or older) will receive a souvenir sample glass to taste drinks from a variety of vendors while browsing through the Greensboro Science Center’s museum, aquarium and zoo. Brews & Bubbles will start at 7 p.m. and will also feature food stations and music from local band Old Heavy Hands and singer-songwriter Alan Peterson.

The Greensboro Science Center held this event for the first time in November 2014. This time around, they are including exciting new additions. The 2016 event will offer a much wider selection of drinks, including beers from breweries such as Foothills Brewing and Gibb’s Hundred Brewing Company, and will also include wine and champagne. The wine tasting aspect of the event will be new and will include wines from Grove Winery & Vineyards, RayLen Vineyards and Winery, Starrlight Mead, Rickety Bridge Winery and Stonefield Cellars. Food stations will feature snacks and hors d’oeuvres, including creations by Pepper Moon Catering. Games will be set up alongside the dinosaurs and outside in the Animal Discovery Zoo.

“We have wonderful members here at the Greensboro Science Center, but most of our membership and our visitors are families with children. We are trying to reach a different group of potential members in a fun way! What better way to do that than with a premier beer and wine tasting event, after hours?” explained Julie Tesh, the Greensboro Science Center’s Communications and Events Associate.

“It gives a new audience – and we hope some returning guests as well – a chance to see what inspiring things we have going on here at the Science Center,” Tesh continued. “Everyone will be able to walk around at their leisure throughout the GSC [Greensboro Science Center] and see everything as they enjoy the evening and festivities. We were inspired to do this event so we can continue to inspire others to keep visiting and to keep learning! And April is NC Beer Month so the timing was perfect.”

A dedicated committee of staff and personnel has been meeting since early 2015 to plan this year’s Brews & Bubbles event. After figuring out ways to improve the event after the first one in 2014, the committee took on a huge list of tasks, including selecting and calling every vendor, mapping a layout for the event, creating graphics, promoting the event, selling tickets, planning the entertainment and finding volunteers to work the event.

“A lot of work goes into the planning process of every event here, and we have a lot of moving parts,” Tesh said. “We want to make sure that every event we have here is the best we can offer. That way it ensures everyone that attends has the best time possible!”

The funds raised from the event will go towards supporting the Greensboro Science Center.

“Since we are a non-profit organization, all the fundraisers that we have here at the GSC are designed to help us raise money to continue helping the facility as we grow and evolve in our technology, renovations and general upkeep,” Tesh explained.

Tickets for Brews & Bubbles cost $40 for Greensboro Science Center members and $45 for non-members. They can be purchased at https://shop.greensboroscience.org/Sales/Admission/TicketSales.aspx and will remain on sale until the event reaches capacity or until 5 p.m. on the day of the event – whichever happens first.

“I think for the price per ticket, you get a lot of ‘bang for your buck,’” Tesh concluded. “It’s just a really neat way to see the Science Center after hours and in a different light. Everyone always enjoys the events here because you cannot beat the atmosphere. It is going to be a lot of fun and everyone should come and bring their friends! We have a lot going on here and have had a lot of changes in recent years. For many people that grew up in this area, they may or may not have been back to see all of those changes and how COOL the GSC is, so this is a perfect opportunity to socialize, drink some tasty beer and wine among friends and see how much we have to offer!”