Overview:
Lumpy Ridge Brewing Co. holds its annual 531 Party on Sunday, May 31, with "local beer, local bands, local food."
The 531 Party all started as a joke because of an address.
“It’s a total goof,” said Nicholas Smith, owner and operator of Lumpy Ridge Brewing Company. “We get the question all the time: ‘What’s the 531 Party?’ And it’s like, well, it’s our address.”
Lumpy Ridge Brewing Co. sits at 531 S. St. Vrain Ave. in Estes Park, so May 31 eventually became an obvious excuse to gather people at the brewery. The annual 531 Party returns from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, with live music from John and the Berries, food from Street Nudes, and the kind of no-fuss neighborhood energy that has helped turn the event into an early summer tradition.
Smith says he first noticed the connection between the address and the date a few years into running the business, when the brewery was looking for a fun way to add something to the calendar. Lumpy Ridge Brewing Company is now in its 11th year, and Smith estimates the party has happened for about eight of those years.
The event was low-key in its early years, but that did not last long.
“It had kind of a slow start for the first couple of years, and then it just turned into a thing,” Smith said. “It’s cool that it kind of caught on. It’s really been a big thing since the third year or so.”
The formula is simple. The bands change from year to year, but Smith says the brewery has not tried to build an elaborate theme around the date. Instead, the party has grown by staying casual.
“It’s a come-as-you-are party,” Smith said. “I’d say it’s fairly local-centric. It’s a big party as the season gets underway.”
That timing is part of the draw. By the end of May, Estes Park is moving into its busy summer rhythm, with more visitors in town, longer days, and locals bracing for the season ahead. For Smith, the 531 Party has become less about a calendar gimmick and more about giving people a reason to gather before summer fully takes over.
“It’s more of a come as you are, mix and mingle,” Smith said. “It’s just a good gathering, lots of familiar faces, and enjoying local beer, local bands, local food, and doing a fun thing at Lumpy Ridge.”
This year’s event will feature John and the Berries, a local band, with Street Noods serving as the featured food truck. The party is open to anyone, though Smith says it has developed a strong local following over the years.
“It’s kind of grown to where people just get together and celebrate the kickoff to the summer season,” Smith said. “Of course, we want everyone to come and enjoy, but yeah, it is somewhat local-centric as far as the crowd goes.”
For a brewery, that makes sense. According to Smith, a good neighborhood taproom is not just a place to drink beer. It becomes a place where people run into friends, meet neighbors, hear music, mark the seasons, and find small rituals that make a town feel like home.
“What I like best about the 531 Party is what I like best about the brewery: people coming together to celebrate the community of it all,” Smith said. “Us as local Estes Parkers, and celebrating that we all get to be, share, and live in Estes Park.”