Overview GrillFest is Minnesota Monthly's outdoor food and drink festival, billed as the Twin Cities' kickoff to summer. It takes over CHS Field, home of the St. Paul Saints in Lowertown, for two afternoons at the end of May. One ticket covers everything: guests eat and drink their way around the ballpark sampling grilled food and every kind of drink, from craft beer to spirits, from more than 100 vendors. Greenspring Media, the magazine's publisher, produces it alongside its other signature events. On site Restaurants and pitmasters share the ballpark with breweries and wineries, and their tents run along the concourse and out onto the outfield grass. Guests carry a commemorative tasting glass and a program called Tasting Notes. The big draw is four live-voting battles, for the best burger, Bloody Mary, margarita and barbecue of the weekend. Guests taste every entry and vote on the spot. Winners take home a trophy and cash. Between tastings there are yard games on the lawn and a photo booth, plus vendors selling grills and outdoor gear. Audience The crowd is local and well off. Everyone is 21 or older, and most guests come from St. Paul, Minneapolis and the surrounding metro. Magazine research puts the average household income at $215,000. Three in four guests are college graduates and about 64% are women. Ninety-one percent dine out or entertain regularly, and 73% say they often buy products they first saw at an event. Talent and Influencers The stars are the Twin Cities restaurants that enter the battles. The Tavern Grill, Peggy's Bloodies, El Sazon Tacos and More and Bullvino's Churrascaria have all taken titles, and past editions have used celebrity judges alongside the public vote. Local TV treats it as a start-of-summer story, and KSTP, WCCO, KARE 11 and FOX 9 have all covered it live from the ballpark while Minnesota Monthly's own editors promote it in print and online for months beforehand. Track record GrillFest has run for more than a decade. COUNTRY Financial presents the Burger Battle with support from Performance Food Group. Gray Duck Spirits has the Bloody Mary Battle, Milagro Tequila the Margarita Battle and Minnesota Pork the BBQ Battle. Tito's Handmade Vodka and Twin Cities PBS have presented the whole festival. Kowalski's and Pella are among the current sponsors. Brand presence Sponsors get months of Minnesota Monthly marketing before anyone reaches the gate. That means logos in magazine and digital ads plus sponsored newsletters and social posts. At the ballpark, brands take booths from a 10x10 up to a double footprint and show slides on the video board. They can also sponsor a battle, the Game Zone, a Cool Zone, a photo booth, the tote bag, the tasting glass or a vehicle display. Afterwards, sponsors are included in the recap email sent to guests.