CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Get ready for a beer-filled Saturday at the Capitol in Charleston this weekend, and all for a good cause that puts money back into the community.

The annual Foam at the Dome is back again with over 160 different varieties of craft beer from across more than 60 brands, whether brewed right here at home in the Appalachia, or those from all over the country.

Hosted by the local economic and revitalization organization, Charleston Urban Works, the event raises the funds that get put back into the community through improvement projects on the city’s West Side, East End, and downtown areas.

Foam at the Dome will take place this Saturday at the grounds outside the capitol from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

However, Charleston Urban Works Executive Director Ric Cavender said on 580 Live recently that the fun doesn’t end there this year, as for the first time ever, they will host Foam After the Dome, which invites the event-goers out to 15 different breweries, bars, and restaurants across the Capital City for some food and drink specials from 7 p.m. until the businesses’ close.

Cavender said it’s another way to encourage people to stay in Charleston for the night.

Ric Cavender

“Foam ends pretty early at 7′ o’clock, so we want people to stay in Charleston,” Cavender said. “We have a lot of people who come from out of town and stay in hotels, but we also have a lot of local folks, we want them to stay here, we want them to go get dinner and get more drinks, and we want them to enjoy the evening, and invest locally, right, continue to invest back into the local economy.”

Some of the participating bars and restaurants for Foam After the Dome include Sam’s Uptown Café, Fife Street Brewing, and Black Sheep Burrito downtown, the Wandering Wind Meadery and the Wine Down on the West Side, and the Red Carpet and Lee Street Lounge on the East End. For a full list of the participating establishments, you can visit Foam at the Dome’s social media pages.

Cavender said that if you’re not a beer drinker, there’s other drink options as well such as seltzers, meads, slushees, and ciders.

He said there will also be a total of nine different food vendors set up as well as artesian and non-profit vendors, in addition to live musical entertainment on two different stages.

Cavender said Foam at the Dome is one of Charleston Urban Works’ largest fundraising events.

Charleston Urban Works was formally known as Charleston Main Streets, but re-branded a couple of years ago.

Cavender said its history goes back to 2002 when East End Main Streets was formed, and then later in 2005 with West Side Main Streets. In 2015, he said the two groups decided to merge to create Charleston Main Streets.

He said their entire goal is focused on improving the area as a whole.

“Really our mission is fully focused on the urban and economic revitalization of the urban districts of Charleston, West Virginia, so that’s the East End, the West Side, and now we’ve just added Kanawha City to our repertoire if you will,” he said.

He said they really strive to focus on public space enhancement projects as well as business development and advancement initiatives.

Cavender said they also work to advance marketing in the Capital City and bring more people in as well as increase engagement across their volunteer base and business communities.

“Making sure that everyone understands the importance of investing in your urban neighborhood business districts, because, if you don’t have a strong urban core, you don’t have a strong capital city,” Cavender said. “So, we’re really proud of the work we’ve done over the past now 23 years in our different iterations, and we’re even more excited about the future with this new restructuring and rebranding, and with keeping our events like Foam at the Dome and then in September, October West.”

Foam at the Dome

Cavender said last year, Foam at the Dome saw a sold out event at 1,500 people, and he said this year looks just about as promising.

He said the event is a reflection of the craft beer industry in West Virginia, which only continues to grow.

Cavender said that much of that growth came ten years ago when he worked with senators on a set of bills to expand the craft beer market in West Virginia.

“Getting those bills passed was huge in seeing the growth of the craft beer industry in the state of West Virginia,” he said. “The reason we got involved with that is because we wanted to see more of those types of small businesses in our districts, but not just in Charleston and in our districts but certainly everywhere, we wanted to make sure that culture existed across the state.”

Cavender said general admission to Foam at the Dome is $45 dollars and the VIP ticket is $55, which will get you an extra hour from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. as well as access to the VIP table and exclusive beers. Tickets are available online at foamcwv.com and ticket prices will not increase at the gate.

He said they also offer a free ticket to the event for designated drivers. They get a special red wrist band and still have access to food vendors and the entertainment.

The event goes from Greenbrier Street down to California Avenue, which covers the whole span of the Capitol Complex.

There will be free parking available in the capitol garage and all around the neighborhood.

However, the beer drinking this weekend in the Capital City doesn’t stop there as it actually kicks off Friday with the release of “Animal Ale” at Fife Street Brewing.

Steve Animal

Animal Ale is the new signature drink of Steve Animal from WV Broadcaster’s Association’s Rock Station of the Year, 98.7 The Mountain.

The launch of Animal Ale kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. at Fife Street located at 180 Summers Street, Charleston.

Steve Animal said how this came to be on 580 Live Friday morning.

“We were spitballing about six to nine months ago about doing something a little different, a little rock and rollish, and so, you know, here we are and it is the Animal Ale launch on West Virginia Day,” he said.

Steve Animal added that this opportunity to get his own brand of ale is quite an honor.

“Very grateful, very humble and surprised that we have something this cool going on.”