Hidden Springs Brewhouse is celebrating their third anniversary with a weekend-long event on August 12, 13, and 14. Festivities will include live music, food trucks, a raffle by Friends of Rogers, a visit by the Cornell Raptor Program, and of course, delicious beer, wine, and hard cider. (Submitted photo)

NORWICH — Hidden Springs Brewhouse, located at 170 County Road 31 in Norwich, will be ringing in their third anniversary with a three-day weekend celebration on August 12, 13, and 14.

The weekend will be host to local bands, food trucks, and a “Raffles and Raptors” fundraiser by Friends of Rogers Environmental Education Center.

"Friday we’ll have two food trucks, Hubcap Munchies and Phat Backs BBQ, and then the Woodshed Prophets play Friday, the band is 5 to 8 [p.m.]," said Hidden Springs Owner Krista Porter. "On Saturday we have Hubcap Munchies and SmokeOut BBQ for the food, and Roundhouse Rockers is playing 4 to 7 [p.m.]. Sunday we still have Hubcap Munchies, and then Lazy II is going to play 2 to 5 [p.m.]."

Of course, the celebration wouldn't be complete without the refreshing beer brewed by Hidden Springs themselves. The brewery recently won their second medal at the US Open Beer Championships.

"We got our second medal for Krista’s Vanilla Porter, that was a bronze medal at the US Open Beer Championships," said Porter. "Two years ago we won silver with the same beer."

Other beers on tap at Hidden Springs include Our Lady of the Lake, Breakfast Juice, Maydole Engine 2, Briter Dayz, Funzig Funzig, Always Freakin' Cloudy, and the freshly-brewed Holy Citra will be making its return to the menu this month.

For those who prefer wine and cider, Hidden Springs also offers local wines from Heron Hill and Rustic Ridge Wineries, as well as hard cider by Awestruck Cider.

In addition to the beer, wine, food, and music, Friends of Rogers will be setting up shop in the brewhouse all weekend long to sell tickets for a raffle of approximately 40 gift baskets. They will also be bringing in visitors from the Cornell Raptor Program.

"Friends of Rogers staff will be there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with our raffle tables, and the main focus will be Saturday, August 13 from 1 to 3 [p.m.]. We’ve invited the Cornell Raptor Program to bring birds such as owls and hawks for you to see up close and take photos of, and the handlers will be able to answer questions," explained Friends of Rogers Director of Development Heather Tehan. "That’s a nice, family-friendly event. It’ll be outside under a tent, and then the raffles will be held inside the brewhouse."

Baskets will be set up and tickets will go on sale Friday evening, with tickets available for purchase through the weekend until Sunday, when winners will be drawn. Tickets will be sold in bunches of six for $5, and participants do not have to be present to win.

"They don't have to be present to win. They can either pick up their items on Sunday afternoon, or if they can't make it back Sunday afternoon they can pick up the items at Friends of Rogers Visitors Center the following week," said Tehan.

"Some of the raffle items that you could win are tickets to the Chenango Blues Festival, hiking equipment, a drone, we have a remote-controlled trail runner from HackFab Hobbies in Sherburne, membership to Utica Zoo, lots of gift cards from Nina’s, Old Home Distillers, 5th Dimension Photography, and Perry’s," she added. "There's so many things. We have handbags, we have signed memorabilia. All kinds of stuff for everyone."

The proceeds from the fundraiser will help Friends of Rogers continue to provide educational programs and opportunities at the Rogers Environmental Education Center, located at 2721 State Route 80 in Sherburne.

More information on the Friends of Rogers Environmental Education Center can be found at FriendsofRogers.org and the Friends of Rogers Facebook page.

"The fundraiser is just to provide funding for us to be able to fulfill our mission of providing free and low-cost environmental education programs to the community," said Tehan. "We're so appreciative to Hidden Springs to give us the opportunity to set up and be a part of their anniversary weekend."

Participating in local fundraisers is nothing new to Hidden Springs. On Saturday, August 6 they will be hosting the second annual Paws and Pints fundraiser for the Chenango SPCA, and have two other fundraisers slated for later this year.

"We will have an Oktoberfest October 7, 8, and 9. Kind of the same idea of bands and more food trucks," Porter explained. "Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day on September 17 with The Ryan Clan, that’s usually a big day ... [St. Baldrick's], they’re going to do their basket raffle that weekend as well. So a lot of fundraising going on."

Hidden Springs is open to the public from 3 to 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 12 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 12 to 6 p.m. on Sunday. For more information on upcoming events and available beers, visit HiddenSpringsBrewhouse.com or the Hidden Springs Brewhouse Facebook page.