Supporting local businesses and nonprofits is important to Gaston Brewing Company Founder and CEO Troy Rassmussen.
After speaking to his team, they decided to create an event this summer that would be fun for the whole family while also supporting the community.

“We wanted to do an event that would feature local vendors, local food, obviously local beverage, which was provided by us. And most of all, we wanted to partner with a local nonprofit organization to bring awareness to their cause and to help potentially raise some funds in support of what they're doing,” Rassmussen told Up & Coming Weekly.

The nonprofit they chose was the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society — Cumberland County's only no-kill nonprofit animal shelter.

The FAPS mission is "to provide a licensed, no-kill shelter for homeless animals until adopted into a loving and caring lifetime environment; to reduce the population of stray animals and to promote responsible pet ownership. FAPS receives no government funding and relies solely on the generosity of individuals and businesses to fund its lifesaving work,” according to their website.

All profits from the multiple raffle drawings at the event will be donated to the FAPS.
Some prizes for the raffle include gas gift cards, an indoor climbing package, local businesses' items and dancing lessons at Roland's Dance Studio.

Rassmussen says there will be all types of vendors, boutiques, food and kid-friendly activities at the event. Some of the food trucks that have been named for the event include Big Chiefs Food Truck and Pelican Snowballs. Local musician Ethan Hanson will be performing at the event.

For kids, Rassmussen says they are working on getting a kids zone section that will be a safe place for kids to play.
Some planned activities include a possible petting zoo, a splash pad and various games.

“It's going to be primarily an outdoor event," Rassmussen said. "So we'll have plenty for people to do and see and hopefully raise money for a good cause.”
FAPS will be out at Shops N' Hops and bringing some of the animals they have available for adoption. While it won't be same-day adoption, Rassmussen hopes that the people who will come and see the animals will hopefully think about adopting.

“So it'll be a great opportunity for people to come and meet the fine folks at FAPS, and hopefully, maybe one of the pups that they bring will find a new home,” Rassmussen said.
Rassmussen hopes these Shops N' Hops events will continue as a regular event at Gaston's.

“I think the idea is we would like to do this, you know, quarterly or maybe seasonally and choose a different nonprofit each time,”- Rassmussen said.
Shops N' Hops will take place on July 15 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Gaston Brewing Taproom. The event is free and is geared toward people of all ages.