Coffee Festival organizers get grinding on year two

LACONIA — Setting up for the gathering’s sophomore year, New England Coffee Festival organizers aim to intensify its success. 

Feedback from industry professionals and attendees after the festival’s debut last year was overwhelmingly positive, said Wayfarer Coffee Roasters co-owner and festival organizer Karen Bassett.

“What we heard from all of our sponsors, speakers, and hosts was that this didn't feel like a Year One experience. They couldn't believe we had never done this before. So that to me was the highest compliment,” Bassett said. 

With the annual Specialty Coffee Expo, last year in Boston just ahead of the NECF, moving to Oregon in 2023, Bassett said buzz about Laconia’s festival is already growing, and she’s optimistic the festival will pull even more industry interest than last year.

Festival layout and programming are being tweaked in response to participant and attendee feedback.

Workshops will focus more on hands-on instruction and will be labeled with the expected experience level of participants: beginner, intermediate or advanced.

“It was a little more geared toward beginners last year — or those just entering the coffee scene — and the feedback we received from coffee professionals was like, ‘We'd love to have some advanced classes,’” Bassett said. 

One goal is to improve the overall flow of the event and its programming by consolidating its location between the Belknap Mill and Canal Street areas. The food trucks and live music will be closer together, and there will be more designated areas outdoors for people to enjoy food and beverages.

“I want to create a key that will identify who a session or workshop or feature is for, whether you are in the industry and have experience, or whether you're an enthusiast who's just excited about it,” Bassett said. “Elevated, clear programming and communication are what we’re going for.”

The latté art throwdown will be moved to the Colonial Theatre’s main stage, which Bassett hopes to take better advantage of throughout the festival. 

The Friday night welcome mixer, last year held at Defiant Records & Craft Beer and limited to those who purchased a two-day festival pass, will instead take the shape of a block party on Canal Street, making it more open and able to include more people. 

These changes will serve to enhance the festival’s original mission: to serve the coffee and local communities by bringing together consumers and industry professionals in a single coffee event.

Separate from a festival by the same name held in Laconia in the mid-2010s, Bassett’s vision in starting the NECF last year was to reimagine the typical coffee expo into an experience that creates bonds between local coffee lovers and industry experts, builds connections to the area within the coffee industry and continues the trend of growth in downtown Laconia. 

Wayfarer named the festival’s 2023 date, May 19-20, last month.

Going for a second year is more exciting than stressful compared with last year, Bassett said.

“The first year is always the hardest,” Bassett said. “Now we get to really play and have fun.”