Hops event marks 5th year with new music, brews
A craft brew fundraiser benefitting Two Rivers Habitat for Humanity, which serves Dodge County among others, will change up a few things for its fifth annual event.
The home-building nonprofit has seen some charges this year as well. With a full staff, they’re serving twice as many families as usual. So organizers hope this year’s Hops for Habitat, held April 1 at the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna, is the most successful ever.
Habitat board chair Taylor Herman said the group decided to change up the music this year. Paul Hanna, lead singer of the rock band Annex, will perform.
Guests will also be able to pair their beverages—craft beer, cider, seltzers, and wine from 33 (as of last week) vendors—with food from the El Rey Del Taco truck.
The wide range of vendors, Herman said, “gives people a chance to try something they might not have otherwise.” Some of the businesses will bring new releases or brews they’re thinking about adding to their menus, to get feedback.
Also new this year, VIP packages pair the event with a night’s stay at the Baymont Inn & Suites Owatonna. VIPs also receive early event entry, exclusive beer and wine samples, four pour glasses, $5 gift cards to Foremost Brewing Cooperative and Mineral Springs Brewery in downtown Owatonna, and Kinney Creek Brewery in Rochester.
A shuttle provided by Owatonna Bus Company will take VIPs from the Baymont to the event and downtown after.
Herman said a hand-crafted, wooden “flight paddle” is also part of the package. The collectible item will be stained different colors in future years.
“We’re trying to make this as big a fundraiser as we can making it,” Herman said, “sharing the mission of Habitat and just continuing to grow it and ensure people want to come back.”
Development director Ellen Heydon said Two Rivers Habitat for Humanity serves five counties—Dodge, Olmsted, Steele, Wabasha, and Waseca—and operates a ReStore in Rochester that sells furniture, appliances, cabinetry, and more.
“We have six projects in the works right now,” she said, which is two-and-a-half times more than the past few years.
Habitat families put sweat equity into their homes, which they purchase at the end of the build or remodel, Heydon said. Along with building new homes, Habitat also “recycles” homes when clients move on to something better, which is the point of the program.
As with the nonprofit, Hops for Habitat is driven by volunteers, Herman said. This year, the Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Young Professionals group and Southeast Minnesota Realtors group members, along a few individual volunteers, will work the event.
Because people at previous events asked for it, there will also be more information provided about Two Rivers Habitat for Humanity, including a quiz with prizes.
Tickets range from $300 for the VIP+ package to $10 for designated drivers. Advance general admission tickets sold online are $50; they’ll be available at the door for $10 more.
For more information and links to purchase tickets, follow Hops for Habitat — Two Rivers Habitat on Facebook or visit tworivershabitat.org/hops-for-habitat.
Hops for Habitat
Who: Two Rivers Habitat for Humanity
What: Craft brew fundraiser
Where: Four Seasons Centre- Owatonna
When: Saturday, April 1
Other: Tickets available at
tworivershabitat.org/hops-for-habitat