As a fest organizer (not of this particular one), the last thing we want to see is someone pregaming in line prior to an unlimited pour festival. I don't even want to know why you'd need a cooler.
Thanks for the info IceAce. I was guessing it was a no go on both, but figured I'd ask as I heard from multiple people that both were ok. But since it didn't say anything I wanted to be sure.
Generally a no as it's nearly impossible to control the contents within the cooler. You might want to email the event directly: http://www.newportbeachbeerfest.com/#!contact/c16fm
Went last year and there was a long wait to get in. Saw a lot of people drinking in line. Also, there is a snack shop that sells beer in the same parking lot. Let's just say that most of the "craft" beer that was for sale there sold out.
Looking forward to seeing Hoobastank and Alien Ant Farm. I guess Smashmouth, The Verve Pipe, and Crazytown must have been unavailable.
Post mortem: it was a relatively decent event. I wasn't even aware of it until a friend offered me a free ticket a few hours beforehand. I went in with low expectations and that turned out to be a good decision. I was surprised at the size of the event. There were way more breweries than I had assumed there would be, and way more people. It was a bit awkward that half of the booths were on concrete and the other half in sand. The beers were by and large shelf turds (no big surprise), and a great many drain pours among some of the less established breweries, but scattered about the field were some gems like Great Divide Yeti; Alpine Duet (albeit brewed by Green Flash); and a couple others. The food trucks were a good idea, but the 20 minute wait for food and the massive crowds waiting for their orders was a bit annoying. Overall, I had a pretty decent time. Most of the beer was at least drinkable. People watching was amusing. The venue was interesting. If offered a free ticket next year, I would probably go again.
