A 20-foot inflatable Red Stag bottle stood out among throngs of blue, white, gold and green canopies to show newcomers where to go.
A line of people coiled around the Magnolia Parke parking lot, bustling with people eager to get into Saturday's Greater Gator Beer Festival.
More than 1,000 people attended the festival, which provided guests with unlimited samples of food from local restaurants and more than 100 beers from around the world.
Guests drank traditional beers like Samuel Adams and Budweiser and sampled others from countries around the world, including Ukraine, Italy, Israel and Guatemala.
Participating companies hitched up their canopies on the Magnolia Parke field and equipped each with a handful of volunteers who constantly poured beer or served food to hungry guests.
Beer poured from dozens of taps as guests devoured fried chicken, pizza, peanuts and pulled-pork sandwiches. Vintage beer T-shirts were also on sale.
Beer culture was everywhere.
Joey Westfield and Rick Stevenson wore matching 2-foot mug hats and golden beer-mug sunglasses and said they came for the beer and the women.
"My favorite kind of beer is free beer," said Stevenson, a third-year attendee. "And there's a lot of it here."
Westfield, on the other hand, has gone to every Beer Festival since it started in 1997 and has the event T-shirts to prove it.
"This is my favorite time of the year," Westfield said. "There's nothing else like this around here."
Tasha Healy attended the event for the first time. Her friend won tickets on the radio and invited her to come along.
"I'm a mom of two really little ones, so I don't get out much," Healy said. "This is a big change for me."
With a cup of Orange Blossom Pilsner in her hand, Healy said the beer sampling was her favorite part of the event.
"I don't buy a whole six pack of something I've never tried before," Healy said, "so it's a nice way to see what I like."
This year was the third time the festival was held in October. It was previously held in March.
"Something this much fun can't be done just once a year," said Chuck Fazio, one of the event coordinators.
Dressed in a faded Marines T-shirt, shorts and a straw hat, Fazio walked through the crowds taking pictures, starting conversations with strangers and making sure everything went smoothly.
"Everybody comes and enjoys themselves," Fazio said.
"You just walk around and see everybody's got a smile on, and why not? Beer, food - delicious."
Proceeds from the festival, which cost $25 in advance and $30 at the gate, went to the Alachua County Humane Society - a tradition in its third year.
"It's our way of giving back," Fazio said.
