Brewfest

Also called Drunken Days or the Feast of Brewers, Brewfest, the fourth festival week of Oerth's calendar, is a rowdy period unsurprisingly claimed as a holy time by the church of Olidammara. The Free City of Greyhawk does not celebrate the entire week, but Brewfest 1 and Brewfest 7 are both set aside as public holidays. In Elmshire, the week is spent in restful, carefree music, drinking, and dancing. In Hardby it is spent with fistfights, riots, and ensuing hangovers. In Narwell it is celebrated with ale-brewing contests, horse races, beatings, and robbery. In Safeton it is celebrated with nervous violence and nightly orc hunts.

The elves call this week Fallrite, and use it to contemplate the spirits of their ancestors, the passage to the afterworld, and the fragility of life. They believe other races make merry during Brewfest because they are "hiding" to avoid facing death's reality. In contrast, the olvenfolk strive to fulfill the most important of their duties and reach the most crucial of their decisions during this time of year. The Olvenkings and Olvenqueens traditionally judge capital cases during Fallrite.

Other holidays observed during Brewfest include the Autumnal Equinox and Raxivort's Orgy. The week also includes a very intense beverage competition hosted by the Greyhawk Guild of Ostlers and Brewers.

Bibliography

• McComb, Colin D. The Complete Book of Elves. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1992.

• Miller, Andy. "Campaign Holidays." Dragon Magazine Annual #4. Renton, WA: TSR, 1999

• Gygax, Gary. The World of Greyhawk. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980 (ISBN 0-935696-23-7).
• -----. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983 (ISBN 0-88038-344-5).

• Moore, Roger E. Greyhawk: The Adventure Begins. Renton, WA: TSR, 1998