Wine and fun come to downtown Lincoln Thursdays in May

The Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce is bringing wine, music and entertainment to downtown on Thursday nights in May. The Chamber is debuting Lincoln Thirsty Thursdays starting May 9 at Beermann Plaza, building on the success of the beloved Lincoln Winedown Wednesday events. "Winedown Wednesday was originally brought about to help out the downtown businesses in the spring, ahead of the hot weather in the summer," said Josh Armstrong, outreach and activations manager for the Chamber. Each Thursday in May, the event will have a rotating list of 12 breweries and wineries, plus live music and local food options. Food vendors were selected from downtown restaurants purposefully to help positively impact the downtown establishments. Food options include Old Town Pizza, Red's Country Kitchen and Los Gallos. The series kicks off May 9 with live music from Aaron Burke. The event will also feature products from Lincoln Artisans. "This will be fun in the sun," Armstrong said. "Spring in Lincoln is beautiful and add music, art, food and drinks and that doesn't sound too bad." Proceeds from the event will benefit the Placer County Vintners Association, which represents and supports the Placer Wine & Ale Trail. Participating wineries and breweries include Smokin' Barrel, PaZa, Dora Dain, Hilltop Oaks, Ciotti Cellars, Wise Villa Winery, Rappé Family Vineyards, Happy Dayz, Lone Buffalo, Bonitata, Twin Rocks, Casque, Dueling Dogs, Fowler Farm Brewery, Goathouse Brewing, SLICE Beer Co., Infusion Taproom and Brother's Taphouse. Tickets include five tastes for $15. Wine and beer by the glass or bottle are also available for purchase separately. Thirsty Thursday has an expanded footprint, taking over all of Beermann Plaza, Armstrong said. He said the Chamber hopes to draw 300 people to the area each week.