Beer will flow at southwestern Indiana town’s festival

FORT BRANCH, Ind. (AP) – A southwestern Indiana town has tweaked its ban on alcohol on town property amid hopes that a beer garden can boost attendance at the town’s summer festival.

The Fort Branch Town Council held a public forum and recently made two changes to a town ordinance to allow for beer to be served at the annual festival, starting this year.

The revised ordinance allows anyone age 21 or older to consume alcohol in the beer garden only during the annual festival in the town about 20 miles north of Evansville.

Candy Yancey of Fort Branch Community Pride proposed allowing a beer garden after last year’s festival had low attendance.

Yancey tells the Princeton Daily Clarion that nearby Haubstadt’s Sommerfest has featured a beer garden for years that’s enjoyed robust attendance.