Lagunitas Beer Circus moving to Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds

Having hosted a sold-out crowd every year at its Petaluma brewery, Lagunitas Brewing Co. is moving its popular annual celebration of burlesque, bands and brews, the Lagunitas Beer Circus, to the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds for 2015.

Tickets went on sale this week for the Aug. 16 event. The move is not expected to significantly expand attendance, but to provide more room for the vaudeville-themed revelry that has attracted around 3,000 people each year, said Karen Hamilton, director of communications for Lagunitas.

“It’s always worked out really well at the brewery,” Hamilton said. Yet, “when you’ve got unicyclists and people on stilts moving around, it’s nice to have some space.”

The Lagunitas Beer Circus began seven years ago, born as an idea during SF Beer Week to throw a party at the company’s North McDowell Boulevard brewery. The event quickly exploded in popularity amid the growing fan base for hoppy Lagunitas brews, with tickets typically selling out in a single day, Hamilton said.

The 21-and-older event features high-flying circus acts, risqué burlesque, multiple music performances and beer from Lagunitas and other area breweries. And when Lagunitas opened its new brewery in Chicago, the Beer Circus came along, too.

Things that have made the event so popular will all carry over to the fairgrounds, along with the possibility of additional entertainment, Hamilton said.

The Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in the center of Petaluma hosts a variety of events throughout the year, the largest being the week-long Sonoma-Marin Fair each summer. Yet adding a new event on the scale of the Beer Circus is rare, said Sarah Cummings, Sonoma-Marin Fair CEO.

“We’re just thrilled to be partnering with Lagunitas,” she said. “We hope this is the beginning of a long-lasting relationship with this great member of our community.”

Tickets are available at lagunitas.com/beercircus and cost $40. The event benefits the Petaluma Music Festival, which supports music programs in Petaluma-area schools.

(Contact Eric Gneckow at eric.gneckow@arguscourier.com. On Twitter @Eric_Reports.)