Westwood Works builds community with pop-up beer gardens

Westwood Works, an asset-based community development organization that celebrates the Westwood community, recently hosted its third Pop Up Beer Garden on Aug. 2. Based on the Five Points Beer Garden in Walnut Hills, the first two beer gardens drew more thab 300 people to each event.  
 
“The beer gardens have provided so much opportunity for us to fundraise for community-building efforts while accomplishing our primary goal of gathering people in a historic building district to enjoy the company of one another and see why we love Westwood so much,” says Nikki Mayhew, a Westwood Works board member.
 
If you missed it, the next beer garden is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 4, and will feature beer from Rhinegeist. Music Man DJ Flyin’ Brian Hellmann will provide entertainment, and there will be homebrewing demonstrations and food trucks.
 
Westwood Works has a few other events planned throughout the rest of the year, including:

• 6^th Annual Westwood Art Show on Sept. 13, which is held in partnership with WestCURC. The show will feature dozens of craft vendors, live music, food and fun on the lawn of Westwood Town Hall.

• Family Movie Night at 8 p.m. on Sept. 20 at the Gamble Nippert YMCA. A family-friendly movie will be shown on the lawn of the YMCA on a large projection screen.

• Deck the Hall from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 30, which is held in partnership with the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, the Gamble Nippert YMCA, Madcap Puppets and several local churches. The event will include crafts and games for kids, a visit with Santa, carols sung by local choirs, Mapcap Puppets, food trucks and the lighting of the tree at Westwood Town Hall.

“We like to see the community coming together to build on its strengths and capitalize on its differences to become a stronger, more inclusive community,” Mayhew says.
 
Westwood Works' monthly meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. the last Wednesday of the month. The next one is scheduled for Aug. 27 at Dean’s Hops & Vines.