Board approves Reese Rock Fest beer garden; promoter says safety, insurance in place

The Carroll County Board of License Commissioners on July 8 approved a beer garden for the Reese Rock Fest and renewed permission for a beer garden tied to the carnivalraffle.

Linda Bowen, an officer with the Reese Fire Department, told the board the volunteer fire company would run alcohol sales and that proceeds would support equipment and operations. She said the event setup follows the same footprint as the carnivallongstanding big-money raffle beer garden, and that servers would be certified and wristbands used at entry.

Promoter John Giarini, who identified his business as Eagle Star Productions, said the concert planned for Aug. 29 would be a 21-and-older event, with beer, canned seltzers and hard lemonade served, wristbands for entry and a contracted security firm, Wolfe Security, controlling ingress and egress. Giarini told commissioners he carries a $3 million liability policy to meet state requirements and that he had obtained—or was in the process of obtaining—required zoning and health permits. He said the health department required a $20,000 cash bond as part of the permitting process.

Board members asked about whether outside alcohol would be allowed (Bowen said no), who would carry liability (Giarini said he would) and how proceeds would be split (Bowen said the fire company receives proceeds from ticket sales, food and alcohol). After reviewing the diagram and hearing no objections, the board voted to permit the events.

The board did not attach additional conditions beyond the standard permitting steps; staff will confirm zoning, health and liability documentation ahead of the event.

The boardmeeting packet included a layout diagram showing a marked backstage area and a staged footprint for the beer garden. The licensee and promoter said they will debrief after the event to record lessons learned and to evaluate safety and operations for potential future events.