One of Treefort Music Fest’s 13 forts was back in action for the 13th annual Treefort Music Fest March 27-30.
Alefort is one of the few free forts within Treefort where attendees can try craft beverages from different parts of the world alongside a few food trucks.
An interesting component of Alefort is that in order to purchase beverages, attendees must use Alefort tokens — priced at $3.75 each — instead of cash or a credit card.
A popular area where attendees gathered is the “Alefort Lounge”, a free-to-enter beer garden where various events were held throughout the week.
Uncorked and Undressed
One event held on Friday, March 28 was “Uncorked and Undressed”, hosted by Sleight of Hand Cellars Winery from Walla Walla, Washington.
Co-Owner Trey Busch, who’s been in the wine business for 25 years selling wine to Idaho and Washington markets, notes the most gratifying part of the work.
“The most gratifying part about being in the wine business is the people I’ve met over my 25 years,” Busch said. “When customers become your friends, that’s pretty special.”
The five wines sampled at the event are in Boise Co-Op Market, ranging from red blends to chardonnay. Each wine — The Magician Rising, The Enchantress Chardonnay, The Spellbinder Red Blend, Levitation Reserve Syrah and The Illusionist Reserve Cabernet — differ in flavors from sweet to bitter.
A Burlesque show starring performer (and Busch’s wife) Holly Dolly took place during the event.
“They’re both artistic,” Busch said. “Winemaking is art, so I get to share that with my people. Burlesque is art [and] Holly gets to share her art with her people.Anytime we get to share what we love making with other people, that’s always a thrill.”
Paella and Txotx
Other events used Alefort as a platform to showcase their culture through food.
“Paella and Txotx” was an event run by Tony and Tara Eiguren, owners of The Basque Market located in downtown Boise.
Throughout the day, attendees could have a plate of paella, a colorful dish containing saffron rice, shrimp, mussels, clams, chorizo, peppers and onions. Four members from The Basque Market team worked together to cook and serve the dish over two huge paella pans, each several feet in diameter.
“It’s pretty visual and it’s easy to have [to] feed a lot of people quickly,” Eiguren said of the paella. “So I think that works great for this kind of event.”
To complement the dish, they also served Txotx, a type of Basque cider. The cider shot out from a wooden barrel in a fast, straight stream, turning it into an exciting challenge for people to catch in their cups from a distance.
“The cider is fun,” Eiguren said. “Everyone likes to watch it shoot out of the barrel and try and catch it.It’s like a drinking game.”
Eiguren shared his thoughts on being able to represent Basque culture at the Treefort Music Fest.
“I think it’s great,” Eiguren said. “[I] feel like I grew up in the culture and everything and it’s changed over the years. Now it’s cool to be something different, when growing up, it wasn’t as cool to be Basque, and now everyone wants to share it and learn about it.”
Throughout the week, Alefort served beer and wines from around the world, with drinks from states like Idaho, Oregon and Washington to countries like Argentina.
Different stands had creative names for the various types of alcohol such as: “Tart”, “Hoppy”, “Dry Humour”, “On The Wild Side” and “Fun & Fruity”. Drinks were sold in eight and 16 ounce amounts.
Treefort and Alefort attendee Curt Perskine, who has attended Treefort the last eight years, shared his thoughts on the venue’s accessibility and the overall experience being mostly at the Main Stage.
“[There’s been] great bands [and the main stage has] been easy to get in and out,” Perskine said.
Perskine added he’s enjoyed getting to listen to bands from all over the world like the Australian group Amyl and the Sniffers.
Another attendee, Douglas Hutchinson, has been attending Treefort since he was a graduate student at Boise State University. Hutchinson said he’s enjoyed Treefort because it gives him the opportunity to visit venues in Boise he hasn’t been to before, such as The Olympic.
“I’ve lived in Boise for 16 years now and I’ve never been to The Olympic,” Hutchinson said. “It was just a fun opportunity to be there and see new bands that you’ve never heard of.”
In addition, Hutchinson expressed appreciation for Alefort’s food scene, with areas like Alefort’s “The Kitchen”, which offered Nashville Hot Chicken — something not currently available in downtown Boise.
Sunday, the final day of Alefort, concluded with rounds of Bingo as attendees gathered together one last day before Treefort Music Fest came to an end.
