The 13th annual Downtown Newark Food and Brew Festival will be held from 2-9 p.m., Saturday, July 23, on East Main Street and South Main Street.

The festival, which has become a summer tradition, is hosted by the Downtown Newark Partnership, of which the University of Delaware is a member, and Out and About Magazine.

"The Newark Food and Brew has become a rite of summer," said Jerry duPhily, publisher of Out and About Magazine. "When we partnered with the city of Newark to create this event 13 years ago, craft-beer focused events were a novelty. Today, they're commonplace. But the beauty of this event is that it encourages guests to explore Newark and actually visit the many participating restaurants. It's an ideal showcase for the city's dining scene."

The festival showcases more than 40 craft and imported beers paired with creative food offerings from 18 of Newark's restaurants. Unlike most beer festivals, this is a pay-as-you-go event that takes place in the restaurants.

"Food and Brew is much different than just a regular Saturday at any of the participating restaurants," said Megan McNerney, community affairs officer. "The restaurants are pairing specialty plates with the beers to give customers a unique experience."

Keeping with tradition, Out and About Magazine will be offering guests free samples of gourmet root beer at their station on the lawn of UD's Academy Building.

This year's event will also include a shuttle service to take participants from East Main Street to South Main Street. The shuttle stops include: Newark Shopping Center, the Academy Building lawn, 36 E. Main St., and Greene Turtle Restaurant.

Three bands will be performing at the Academy Building lawn during Food and Brew. The music line-up is as follows:

• 2:30-4 p.m., Jason Ager;
• 5-6:30 p.m., Steve Oakley Band; and
• 7:30-9 p.m., TreeWalker.

Food and Brew is made possible through the support of generous sponsors: Honeywell, JMT, Kitchen Magic, Standard Distributing, BreakThru Distributing, Fusion Racing and Courtyard Newark at the University of Delaware.

For a full list of participating restaurants, featured brews and menus, visit the festival website.