I Hosted The Beer, Bourbon, & BBQ Festival In Wilmington, DE

The year of hosting events continues!

If some of you have been keeping up with my daily posts, you might remember that back in April, I hosted the Philadelphia Music Alliance Gala 2023. That night was awesome because I got to see a couple of my buddies being honored, including John DeBella and Larry Magid. Plus, I got to introduce two amazing performances from The Spinners and The Stylistics.

Well, just a handful of months later, I got the chance to host another event, which took place this past Sunday. I co-hosted the Beer, Bourbon, & BBQ Festival with Deanna Marie from WMGK’s sister station over in Wilmington, Delaware, WJBR!

The event was simply fantastic and it could not have taken place on a more perfect day. The sun was shining, it was not too hot or too humid, and overall it was a great day to be on the Wilmington Waterfront at the Tubman Garrett Riverfront Park.

Going by the festival’s name – Beer, Bourbon, & BBQ Festival – it would make sense that beer, bourbon, and bbq were all well represented, and, man, were they ever! There were 60 different kinds of beers, 40 different kinds of bourbon, and too much bbq food to even keep track of in total. They even had a crab cake sandwich stand!

The number of different booths there made it impossible to make a wrong choice. Anywhere the festival goers picked to eat or drink from, it looked like they enjoyed it all. Even Sea Isle was represented with a Hank’s Sauce stand!

In every direction I glanced, it looked like people were enjoying themselves. I know I sure did!

If you have never been to the Wilmington Waterfront, it’s a very cool place to visit and Philadelphia Sixers’ G-League affiliate team, the Delaware Blue Coats, have a gorgeous practice facility called the Chase Fieldhouse right down the road.

I would highly suggest making a day of it if you get the chance, and definitely consider going to next year’s Beer, Bourbon, & BBQ Festival!

More from Matt Cord...

Over the last week, I did a lot of fun things while away from the WMGK studio. As I wrote about yesterday, I was down the shore for a bit in New Jersey and had a great meal over at Twisties Tavern on the Bay. However, the Jersey Shore was not the only place I visited on vacation.

The other place I went definitely some similarities to the Jersey Shore, like, sharing the same ocean and all, but there are also some cool differences at this place. If you have not guessed by now, I also hit up Rehoboth and Dewey this week!

I love the Delaware beach towns and overall there is a totally different feel to them than that of the Jersey Shore towns – but don’t get me wrong, I love both and each has their own unique characteristics about them!

While there, we took a nice 30-mile bike ride around Lewes, Cape Henlopen Park, North Shore, Rehoboth Beach, and Dewey Beach. Myself, Pattyann, Marisa Magnatta, plus her husband and my friend, Matt Lindenmuth, all had a great time on the ride!

We also went out for a boat ride on the Indian River Inlet to Paradise Beach Bar and then had a bite to eat at Dewey Beer Co. By the way, Matt is one of the main brewers there and has a deep knowledge of beers. Plus, he has a pretty good basketball hat game, like myself, so I scored a couple of cool Dewey Beer snapbacks. I was stoked!

Overall, I had an amazing time down at the Delaware Beaches!

As I said, I am definitely a Jersey Shore guy, but the Delaware Beaches are a nice change up from my normal summer routine! There are definitely a lot more options as far as retail goes, and more Wawas, so who could complain about that? Also, I can’t forget to mention that they are a lot more bicycle friendly.

I can’t wait to head back down again to see what’s in store next!

The first sign you see when you arrive in Dewey Beach. Apparently Dewey Beach is A Way of Life. A good one at that!

Riding my bike in Rehoboth. What a great beach town. Both for bike riding and vacation.

Pattyann and I stopping for a picture in Rehoboth. Look at the cool water tower in the background. It is definitely a landmark in Rehoboth.

The whole group on our bike ride. It was such a fun day. It is always great getting together with Marisa and Matt.

Here is a picture of our over 30-mile bike ride! We went through four different Delaware beach towns. They were all gorgeous.

Matt is not only a good beer brewer, but also a great boat driver. He led the way through the Indian River Inlet and got us to our destination.

After our boat ride, we stopped by this place for a bit. It is called the Paradise Beach Bar. Just wait until you see some of the rules!

No hats. No shirt. No service! And a whole lot of other rules!

This pole is not for dancing! I've never been a rule follower anyway!

No pulling money out of your bra. It is too sweaty. Luckily for me, I don't wear one!

Outside Dewey Beer Co. What a great place! Located right on the corner of Saulsbury Street

You saw the outside, now take a look at the inside. This place was so cool. Matt and company do a great job.

My burger at Dewey Beer Co. was amazing. Look at the size of that thing. You have to try it if you are in the area.

One of the two hats Matt gave me. Me and him will have to compare collections one day. Two of the best hat games out there.

The second of the two hats Matt gave me. I can't tell which one I like better. What do you think?

We passed the President's house on our bike ride. Yes, the secret service was all over me and told me to keep it moving. The do a good job!

Riding in the boat with Pattyann, Marisa, and Matt. Look closely for the dolphins! If you blink you may just miss them!

Here we are as a group on our bike ride. We went through multiple Delaware beach towns. The trail is fantastic.

Here we are in the boat. Matt is driving as we head to Paradise Beach Bar. This was incredible.