Battle of the beer fests: New event contradicts annual Brewgaloo after director's anti-trans remarks

Some Raleigh local businesses and brewing companies are ditching North Carolina’s largest craft beer festival to be part of a new event that debuts on the same day. 

The Y’all Means All NC Beer Festival rose from the ashes of disappointment that is still felt over anti-trans remarks made by Shop Local Raleigh’s director in December, according to several local business owners, including Be Like Missy’s Erica Vogel.

“What’s different about Y’all Means All is that we truly are building a beer festival for everyone,” Vogel said. “We want all locals to feel welcome, celebrated and be able to come together and enjoy craft beer, and know that they’re safe, welcome and appreciated.”

Y’all Means All is to take place at Raleigh Brewing, which is also co-hosting, on April 25 — the same weekend that Shop Local Raleigh holds its annual, two-day Brewgaloo festival, which the website says brings in over 50,000 people to downtown. 

Shop Local Raleigh has recently been under controversy after executive director Jennifer Martin posted a comment under a Facebook post by a parent asking for advice regarding her transgender son.

Martin posted anonymously, "There’s no such thing as a transgender son. Blessings to you, but the sooner you help your son realize this, the more successful he (maybe a she) will be.”

Gigi Stephenson, an administrator of the group in which the post was made, said she could see that the anonymous comment was made by Martin. 

“This is something that the community deserves to know. They're spending money with this organization,” Stephenson told WRAL News at the time. 

Martin’s post gathered the attention of other local business owners, including Vogel, who made a social media post of her own announcing her business would be stepping away from Shop Local Raleigh and Brewgaloo in light of the comment.

The conflict led Vogel to collaborate with Raleigh Brewing’s Kristie Nystedt to host Y’all Means All, which will host 16 brewing companies and just as many artisans, food trucks and live music. 

The event is free, but portions of the proceeds made from the event will go toward the LGBT Center of Raleigh. 

Nystedt said that the message of Y’all Means All is at the core of Raleigh Brewing’s business model and mission — a sentiment she said is felt by breweries from the mountains all the way to the coast. 

“[The festival] is symbolic of the drumbeat, the heart of the brewing community,” Nystedt remarked. “We want to make sure everybody feels safe, everybody feels included, and we want to make sure all breweries have an ability to speak that language.”

Local business SKP Ink was part of the Brewgaloo line-up in 2025, but owner Sarah Plonk was disappointed in the lack of accountability held against Martin.

“There was a little bit of an apology, but nothing we felt was firm enough. We’re big allies of the LGBT+ community, and we’re more interested in spreading love and joy than anything else,” Plonk said. “It’s definitely a shame that we feel like we needed to pull out of Shop Local Raleigh, because of the revenue those festivals brought us. But more than anything, we’re excited that there’s another option for us.”

After the remarks were made public, Shop Local Raleigh posted an apology letter seemingly written by Martin on the group's Facebook page:

I want to sincerely apologize for a comment that I made that caused real hurt and pain to some in our community. It was never my intention to cause pain or division, nor to bring harm to my employer or to those I love and have supported for many years. Still, I recognize that intent does not erase impact, and I take responsibility for the harm my words caused.
My heart has always been for people and this community. And, for those who know me, I pray they know my heart. I humbly ask for forgiveness from anyone I have hurt, directly or indirectly. I've heard my actions have caused division among people and that breaks me. Speaking for me and me only, not my employer, I believe we are all called to love one another just as Christ has loved and forgiven us. My hope and my prayer are that we can move forward together with humility, compassion, forgiveness, and a renewed commitment to care for one another. My desire is for healing, understanding, and love within our community. Thank you to those who offer the grace to grow. To Learn. To work to be better.Jennifer Martin

ParMar Media owner Torrie Wilson, another previous Brewgaloo vendor, echoed Plonk, saying it’s hard to align with an organization that doesn’t seem to harbor the same welcoming values. 

That’s why Wilson said she’s not worried about the less foot traffic this new event will have compared to a decades-long event that brings in over 50,000 visitors from around the world. 

“Being an artist and going to these markets for over 10 years now, it’s kind of scary to do some new things,” Wilson said. “But the way our larger community, from Raleigh to Wake Forest to Apex, wants to be inclusive outweighs that fear…The celebration of the whole community and everyone coming together, I think, that’s going to outweigh the controversy.”