Offering a variety of activities for all ages, the Mancos Valley Summer Brewfest on Aug. 18 was a success for the fourth year in a row with the highest participation yet, co-owner of Mancos Brewing Co. Kathy Hands estimated. She guessed that 40,0450 people came to Cottonwood Park.

Park for the music, activities and, of course, beer, and expected the event raised close to $8,500.

Each year, the money raised goes to the nonprofit organization Mancos Valley Resources, where it gets split between specific projects and the organization itself.

Hands said Mancos Valley Resources gets 50 percent of the proceeds and two other projects, Painted Turtle Studio and Mount Lookout Grange, get 25 percent each.

The Mancos Brewing Co. chooses which projects within Mancos Valley Resources will benefit from Brewfest, Hands said, and making that decision isn’t as hard as it sounds.

“The brewer and I just sit down and have a discussion about it every year,” Hands said. They look at the projects Mancos Valley Resources has and decide which ones make the most sense.

The projects they chose seem to emphasize a sense of community: Painted Turtle Studio hosts classes and provides space for all people to experiment with their artistic side, and Mount Lookout Grange enhances the social connectedness between agricultural producers and the rest of the community.

Unlike most brewfests, which are places for breweries to donate beer as a way to market their products, the Mancos Valley Brewfest is more of a family-friendly festival.

“We recognize how hard it is for small local breweries to give away their beer, so our event is a little different,” Hands said.

The Brewfest this year had performances from several different bands, craft beer from exclusively Montezuma County producers with some wine and cider stands, food vendors and many activities for the kids, Hands said, including key chain making, mural coloring and other crafts.

“This is really turning into a great community event for Mancos,” Hands said.