The Odell Small Batch Festival is an annual event, and each year the brewery grants a portion of the proceeds to a local nonprofit. This year’s beneficiary was the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed, a fantastic organization where one of my neighbors happens to work. A few weeks ago she put out a call for volunteers — at least six of my neighbors answered the call, myself included.

Volunteering for Small Batch was a wonderful experience. We received t-shirts, drink tokens, and more food than we could eat. We were given an air conditioned break room with its own private restroom. We were allowed to sample beers during the shifts and encouraged to take breaks and wander around.

Odell also did a great job of encouraging everyone to stay hydrated. This turned out to be no small feat on a 90-degree day. Bottle filling stations and coolers full of Odell-brand sparkling water certainly helped.

My volunteer responsibility will not sound glamorous but I loved it: we worked with Zero Hero to man their recycling stations. Odell aims for zero landfill impact, and these tent installations aid in that goal. All of the food trunk vendors brought compostable plates and utensils, so the biggest job was keeping people from chucking them out. Many people stopped to tell us how delighted they were that Odell was going above and beyond to recycle.

I lost track of most of my neighbors right away — the event was sold to the hilt. Linda (below, right) and I paired up for recycling duty and took turns meeting up with friends as they emerged from the crowd. Trevor, below, is a friend from the gym.

I had considered riding my bike to Odell — it’s 2 or 3 easy miles from home — but I was concerned about leaving Chesty LaRue (my chestnut-colored bicycle) locked up outside all day. As I left after my shift, I wondered if I would even have been able to find my bike again: