The third annual National Brew Fest will be June 20-21 in downtown Mankato, Minn. There are tasting sessions from 4-7 p.m. each day, with live music from 4-11. This year’s musical headliners are The Marshall Tucker Band and Canned Heat, and they’ll be joined by a half-dozen local/regional bands like Lamont Cranston and the Butanes. Last year about 5,200 people attended the event, which featured about 100 beers from 30 brewers around the nation. More information and tickets are available at www.nationalbrewfest.com

ShamROCK is Finnegans’ second annual outdoor music event benefitting Heading Home Hennepin. ShamROCK 2008 is an afternoon-to-evening music extravaganza featuring up-and-coming local and national acts and a headline performance by Built to Spill. You’ll find Finnegans beer on tap, street entertainment and contests, food from The Cabooze & Whiskey Junction, and a day of partying for a great cause.Built to Spill will take the outdoor stage at 8:30 p.m.; the rest of the line-up is as follows: Ol’ Yeller, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, and Minneapolis favorites A Night In The Box and Romantica. For what it’s worth, I really like Built to Spill and Ol’ Yeller… of course before you try to pigeonhole me, I was just listening to Strike Anywhere in the car, but I digress…This year’s Finnegans ShamROCK will benefit   Heading Home Hennepin, a community coalition to end homelessness in Minneapolis and Hennepin County by 2016.  For tickets and more information, visit   www.finnegansshamrock.org.