Flowtoberfest 2018 – Something to Buzz About
What started as a fun way to show our customers our appreciation has now turned into an A/E/C industry networking social. That’s right, we’re talking about Flowtoberfest! This year marked the 5th year we’ve hosted the event and we’re thrilled with the final outcome.
This year Flowtoberfest was held on Wednesday, October 17, 2018, from 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM at Alvarium Beer Co., the home of #HardHittinBeer. The change in venue was a huge hit with Flow Techians and guests alike. The hand-crafted lighting fixtures and accents pair well with Alvairum’s beehive logo and the city of New Britain’s mascot. The decor inspired the theme of this year’s event to focus on the teamwork of bees.
Flow Tech employees sported Flowtoberfest-branded “Get Buzzed” T-shirts (purchased from Artisan Ink), but don’t worry, Lederhosen were worn again by brave Flow Techians, Mike Davis, Kevin Wixom and Evan Benoit, and Nichole Petersen wore the female variation. Even this year’s favor tied into the theme. Each guest left with a jar of honey. Although the details of the venue’s decor were impressive, the beer, food and company was what made Flowtoberfest 2018 something to buzz about!
All night guests were treated to unlimited 5 oz. beer samples. Many prefer this option over regular drink sizes because it allows them to sample each beer type. Alvairum’s tap list is impressive with options ranging from IPAs and Pumpkin Ale to Hefeweizen, Peanut butter cup and more!
This year we switched the food up by hiring the Cove Deli out of Wethersfield, CT as the event caterer. They did a wonderful job creating an authentic and delicious menu for the event, including items such as sausages, German spaetzel mac n cheese, herb flat breads, Ruben sliders, perogies and more! Guests were very impressed with the spread, and the Cove’s team was a delight to work with. The fact that our VFD manufacturer, ABB, sponsored the food was an even bigger treat.
Also showing their support was our heat pipe manufacturer, Heat Pipe Technology. They were the official pretzel sponsor this year. The pretzels were authentic, German-style from the Pretzel Haus and they were so good they didn’t even need mustard or cheese to pair with. Although we hear in Germany they eat them with butter!
Back by popular demand was the Stein-holding competition, which is always a crowd-pleaser adding excitement to the event. Seventeen participants battled it out to see who could hold a full beer stein at a 90 degree angle the longest. Josh Benson of BVH won for the men’s division and Lauren Marotta of ESC won for the ladies’. Congratulations to the both of them. That is not an easy feat.
All guests who RSVPed prior to October 1st qualified to enter a pong competition. If they sunk a ping pong ball into a cup they were entered into a special prize drawing thanks to our manufacturers TOXALERT and Air Enterprises. Attendees also had fun with the many photo props provided by Party Your World as April Smith of April A. Photography happily captured the memories. Alvairum has several games throughout the brewery such as pinball and Foosball which guests enjoyed playing during the event too.
Aside from the games, the raffle is always a big hit. Luckily we have many generous manufacturers, and even some business contacts, that donate raffle prizes every year. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support year after year!
ABB – Portable Gas Grill
Air Monitor – MAX Group Gift Card
Caruso Electric – Yeti Cooler
Flow Tech, Inc. – Flowtoberfest-branded Corn Hole game and Kegerator
MK Plastics – 10 x 10 Pop-up Canopy
SecureAire – Capital Grill Gift Card
TAMCO – Heirloom Gift Card
TMI Climate Solutions – (2) Amazon Gift Cards
Trueflow Testing and Balancing – Amazon Echo Tech Gift Basket
Every year we run a social media campaign, #TweetForACure, in conjunction with this event as as way to increase our social media followers and engagement, but more importantly, as a way to raise funds for the fight against breast cancer. During the month of October for every new follower we receive on social media: Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube, we donate $10 to the Susan G. Komen Cause for a Cure Foundation. For those already following us on social media but who still want to help, if they mention #Flowtoberfest or share a picture from the event we donate another $10. This year, thanks to Paul Beley’s employee match, we were able to donate $500 towards the cause!
We’d like to thank everyone who made it out to the 5th Annual Flowtoberfest, all our vendors for your time and services and for our manufacturers for their generous donations/sponsorships. Looking forward to seeing you all at next year’s Flowtoberfest! For more information about our event marketing, or Flowtoberfest feel free to contact our Director of Marketing, Nichole Petersen. If you’d like more information about our products and services please call 860.291.8886 or visit us on the web.
Nichole joined Flow Tech in 2013 as Director of Marketing. She leads our marketing communication initiatives including content marketing development, coordinating events and training, maintaining our digital presence and recruiting, as well as, some business development and office support. Nichole resides in Vernon with her husband Brian and two sons. She enjoys hosting parties, cooking and lounging on the beach.