About 700 people packed Webb Park in Rancho Bernardo on Saturday, Oct. 3, for the 15th annual Rancho BEERnardo Festival, raising more than $100,000 for the Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club.
The club hit its goal.
The total, generated through ticket sales and sponsorships, met the fundraising target for the Rotary club's largest event of the year, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Festival co-chair Laura Mello said the heat took a toll on turnout but not on the crowd's energy.
"The heat definitely affected it, but we had a pretty fantastic turnout considering the weather," Mello said.
Before the festival, Mello had set an attendance target of 800 to 1,000, noting that about 900 people came in 2025, the Union-Tribune reported in a Sept. 30 preview. The Oct. 3 crowd of roughly 700 fell short of that mark. Triple-digit temperatures across the Poway and Rancho Bernardo area that weekend likely played a role.
Still, Mello called the afternoon a success, saying that spending time with the Rancho Bernardo community "was such a positive."
Proceeds from the adults-only festival, open to ages 21 and older, will fund the Rotary club's grants for local, national and international projects. Past local recipients have included the Community Food Connection, Oasis Rancho Bernardo, Poway High Robotics, the Poway Center for the Performing Arts, the Rancho Bernardo Historical Society, the Rancho Bernardo Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol and Spirit of the Fourth.
International causes supported in prior years have included the Free Wheelchair Mission, Rotary's Polio Plus, Thousand Smiles and Project Mercy/House Build. The club has not yet announced which specific projects will receive grants from this year's proceeds.
The festival at Webb Park, 11666 Avena Place, featured more than 20 local breweries, including AleSmith, Karl Strauss and Lost Abbey, along with wine and spirits vendors. The Rubber Band, a group whose members live in Rancho Bernardo's Westwood neighborhood, provided live music throughout the afternoon.
The Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club has not announced its next community event. Residents can check with the club for updates on grant distributions and upcoming activities.
