Rancho BEERnardo Festival deemed a success with nearly 900 attendees

“So much fun” and a success in multiple ways is how organizers described the 14th annual Rancho BEERnardo Festival on Saturday in Webb Park.

“The dad band was a real added treat,” said co-chair Laura Mello about the inaugural festival performance of The Rubber Band, which consists of six men who live in Rancho Bernardo’s Westwood neighborhood.

“We had more than 35 vendors and it was fun to see the whole community coming out and enjoying a beautiful Rancho Bernardo day,” Mello said.

She estimated that there were close to 900 people at the festival.

Sponsorships were still coming in so a final fundraising tally was not available on Monday, but Mello said the Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club “definitely raised over $100,000,” which was their goal.

The proceeds are for the Rotarians’ philanthropic endeavors, which include many local projects and support of area organizations along with causes around the world promoted by Rotary International.

“What was so popular were the mocktails,” Mello said of the new offering. “We sold more designated driver tickets, at least two or three times more (than before).”

In prior years, those not wanting beer or wine only had bottled water and sodas as non-alcoholic beverage options. This year Monday Morning Bottleshop in Pacific Beach offered non-alcoholic beers and mocktails. Mello said the Rotarians gave the shop a double-sized booth and “it was busy the whole time.”

Offering more beverage alternatives “was nice because some people just wanted to see the band or their friends, so they had a variety of options,” Mello said. “It really helped a lot that they could come hear the band and know they would get more than water (if not wanting alcohol).

“The food was also widely popular and we sold out of a bunch of the food options,” she said. “Everyone had a wonderful time.”