Moscowberfest keeps the good times rolling

Last October, more than 6,000 people flooded Moscow’s Main Street for an afternoon of family friendly Oktoberfest-themed activities.

The party is back.

Moscowberfest is set from 4-8 p.m. today on Main Street and will have local businesses, food vendors and family friendly activities. Live music will be provided by North Polk Extension starting at 5 p.m. in Friendship Square.

Moscow Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Samantha Martinet said Moscowberfest is one of three large downtown events the chamber and the local businesses association organize each year. The others are Winterfest in February and Camp Moscowanna in June.

“They add to the vibrancy of Moscow,” Martinet said.

The festivals also make use of Moscow’s Entertainment District, which was approved in 2021 by the Moscow City Council and allows for sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages within the district.

The trio of chamber events are funded in part, Martinet said, through a tourism grant from the state of Idaho which is to support tourism marketing for Idaho cities.

For Martinet and others involved in distributing the funds, adding festivals to Moscow’s lineup seemed like a logical step. Moscow already has other well established festivals and it seemed natural to add others.

“How can we add to Moscow to make it feel like a festival city?” was the question the chamber sought to answer, Martinet said.

The themes for each of the festivals has remained the same each year, Martinet said, and each festival is organized by a volunteer group made of several local businesses, who plan the entertainment, activities and the layout, aided by chamber staff and volunteers.

“They (businesses) wanted to see us creating more opportunities for people to be downtown,” Martinet said. “We came on board to support them.”

Moscowberfest has grown in size the past two years. At the 2022 event, Martinet said the chamber had a rapid economic impact assessment done which showed about 6,300 adults and more than 600 children in attendance. About 48% of festival-goers traveled from outside Latah County, Martinet said.

The festivals are free to attend. Those 21 and older can purchase a wristband and drink tickets for $25 at one of the check-in locations, one at Sixth and Main street outside of One World Cafe and one at Third and Main streets outside of the Nine2Five offices.

Wristbands come with a commemorative glass and three drink tickets, Martinet said. Additional drink tickets are available for $2 each and all proceeds from the drink ticket sales go to local businesses.

Nelson can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Moscowberfest

WHEN: 4-8 p.m., today, Main Street, Moscow

COST: The event is free to attend, though food and drink are available for purchase and alcohol wristbands can be purchased for $25. Live music by North Polk Extension is scheduled from 5-8 p.m. at Friendship Square.