Labor Day Beer Festival on Galveston Island
Updated: Friday, 03 Sep 2010, 6:39 PM CDT
Published : Friday, 03 Sep 2010, 5:18 PM CDT
GALVESTON, Texas - Labor Day weekend brings something new to Galveston Island.
The first-ever Brew Masters International Beer Festival is setting up at the Moody Gardens Hotel.
"If you like beer, almost anything is available," says Clifton Mcberby of Food & Vinetime Productions.
The festival is expected to bring an extra 3000 tourists to a hotel that’s almost completely booked and a city that is doing pretty good business despite a few setbacks.
"We went through a lot with Hurricane Ike," Jerri Hamachek, a Moody Gardens spokesperson, said. "So while we know that we are dealing with issues with the economy, it’s certainly not what we dealt with Hurricane Ike."
It’s been almost 2 years since Ike shut down this island, but merchants have done a pretty good job weathering the aftermath.
The island's hotel occupancy tax collection is up nearly 30 percent from last summer, and is almost back to pre-Ike peak numbers.
Labor Day may be the extra push the Island needs as the 2-year anniversary of the storm nears.
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