National Hamburger Festival 2015

 
National Hamburger Festival 2015
by Joanna Wilson

One of the highlights of summer each year is the National Hamburger Festival in downtown Akron.  2015 marks the 10th annual event--how many times have you attended?  Last year I wrote a review of my experiences at beefy festival.  Click HERE to revisit that essay.

At 2014's festival, I feasted on a cheeseburg from local favorites, Bob's Hamburg.

This year, the National Hamburger Festival is Saturday and Sunday, August 8th and 9th.  S. Main Street will be closed off to car traffic as food vendors and entertainment line the curbs for all to enjoy.  As usual, there will be hamburgers and food from national eateries as well as regional and Akron-only restaurants.  Are you vegetarian?  You can enjoy the festival as well because several notable burger joints offer veggie burgers as well.  (Might I suggest Cuyahoga Falls' Retro Dog and their outstanding, spicy Retro Bean Burger?)

One new addition to this year's annual event is Sunday's indie band showcase and craft beer tastings.  The National Hamburger Festival is hosting the indie bands The Gage Brothers, The Brothers Band, By Light We Loom, Goodnight Tonight, and Acid Cats.  (We profiled the band By Light We Loom earlier this year--click HERE to see that again.)  The performances run from 1pm-6pm.

The craft beer available this year includes beer from the breweries Thirsty Dog, Buckeye Brewing Company, Lagerheads Brewing, Mt. Caramel Brewing Co., Canton Brewing Company, and Christian Moerlein.  Beers from these breweries will be available 12-7pm on Sunday.

The family-friendly, two-day festival offers contests, children's activities, music, and entertainment all weekend long.  Please check the festival's website for more information.  I'm excited to see DropKick Apparel will be there selling their Akron t-shirts.  I'll be there too--enjoying a delicious hamburger and the music during the indie band showcase.  I'll also be in a tent signing copies of my brand new Akron history/nostalgia book The Story of Archie the Talking Snowman (which just came out last week!)  I'll be signing copies of my new book from 1-6pm on Sunday, Aug. 9th.  Drop by the tent and say 'hi!'

National Hamburger Festival is Saturday and Sunday, August 8th and 9th, 2015
Saturday hours: noon-11pm, Sunday hours: noon-7pm
Admission is $5.  Ticket info HERE.

For more information:
website: HamburgerFestival.com
Facebook page: National Hamburger Festival
Twitter: @HamburgerFest