RALEIGH, N.C. — One of Raleigh’s biggest events comes back to the city Friday and Saturday.

Brewgaloo returns to downtown Raleigh this weekend

The city is expecting 25,000 people

Last year, Brewgaloo was drive-thru only

Brewgaloo is one of the country’s largest beer festivals.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to flock to downtown’s streets.

“We’ll end up having over 70 breweries, about 40 to 45 food trucks and about 40 vendors set up throughout the area," said Jennifer Martin, executive director of Shop Local Raleigh.

The organization has hosted the event for 10 years.

Martin is in charge of putting it all together with the help of 40 volunteers.

“It's one of the largest beer festivals in the United States. It is the largest in North Carolina," Martin said.

Last year, COVID-19 forced Brewgaloo to pivot, and it became a drive-thru event.

Martin says Brewgaloo’s return to the streets is great news for small businesses.

“This is an opportunity, not only to market their brand, but also to keep their business alive," Martin said.

This year will look much more similar to years past, but with some changes.

“We are expecting smaller attendance just given the fact that we are having less vendors, less breweries and also competing with football season," Martin said.

There may be a lot of changes, but Brewgaloo is back, and Martin says the city is ready.

“Having the opportunity to do this gives us this opportunity to bring community back together, and we wanna do it safely, but excited to bring this back to downtown," Martin said.

If you plan on going to this weekend's event, you only need tickets if you want to drink.

Access to things like vendors, food trucks and music is free.