“We wanted to provide a second option so people could stay away from the chaos uptown,” said Little Fish Brewing Company Taproom Manager Beau Nishimura.
On Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., Little Fish will host its very own Halloween party. This is the third year of the event, which coincides with the infamous Athens Halloween Block Party on Court Street. Little Fish is located on Armitage Road, about three miles west from Uptown Athens.
Though directly competing with the block party, Little Fish maintains a full house. Unlike the Block Party, overcrowding and disorder are not issues.
“There will be a good crowd of course, but it will be less of a crowd than uptown and not as much craziness,” Nishimura said.
Little Fish is more prepared than ever for this weekend. Little Fish just finished its recent remodeling and now has an expanded taproom and full functioning kitchen. Likewise, this year’s party is an expansion of years prior.
“Since last year we added our new parking lot,” Nishimura said. “Inside we increased our taproom space and we have a new kitchen.”
The night will feature two local musical acts and frequenters of Little Fish. Singer-songwriter Darrin Hacquard will take the main stage and play until 9 p.m. Hacquard is a frequent performer and longtime friend of the Little Fish staff, and plays original Appalachian-influenced work.
“He’s amazing,” Nishimura said. “He performs here about three times a year.”
From 9 p.m. to closing, Little Fish’s very own DJ Dad Bod will spin vinyl. DJ Dad Bod, also known as Addison Ashbaugh, “champion of high-fives” and front-of-house bartender, is a frequent performer at Little Fish as well.
“I play about quarterly, whenever duty calls,” Ashbaugh said. “I’ve been an off-and-on DJ for about 10 years.”
Ashbaugh spins real vinyl records from his personal collection.
“I’ll be spinning classic vinyl out of my collection,” said Ashbaugh. “It’ll be influenced by the darker side of rock but with classic campy Halloween music. Like, for example, I have the Ghostbusters theme song on vinyl, and I’ll be playing that.”
Little Fish’s party is meant to be a space for everyone to celebrate Halloween.
“We are decorating, of course, and highly encourage everyone to come in costume,” said Nishimura.
This also means that Little Fish cares about the well-being of its attendees.
“Our goal is to have a safe and good time on Halloween. We have non-alcoholic options and a kitchen for food. We also encourage everyone to take cabs, Lyfts, designated drivers or carpool,” Nishimura said. “We also encourage everyone to stay safe.”
