WATERVILLE — After a pandemic hiatus last summer, the 28th annual Taste of Waterville will return to downtown in a new location but with many of the classic features of the event.
The festival focus is to bring the community back for an iconic Waterville feature, said Shawn Michaud, a board member for the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the event, and committee chair for Taste of Waterville.
“It just brings so many people out together for that opportunity,” Michaud said, “and I can’t say enough about how much I enjoy this event and enjoy being a part of it.”
Taste of Waterville will take place Wednesday, Aug. 4, from noon until 11 p.m., and will feature a variety of restaurants, bite booths, vendors and musical acts.
In past years, the event took place on Main Street downtown, but the ongoing construction this year meant that it had to move. Instead, this year the festival will shift a few blocks over to the Head of Falls RiverWalk area off Front Street.
There will be parking at The Concourse, and go-cart shuttles going back and forth between parking and the event for anyone concerned about the walk.
The move has presented unique challenges and opportunities, Michaud said. Many of the challenges were logistical concerns, like power and electricity for booths and entertainment. When it came to setup and locations for booths, it was almost like starting from scratch.
“In essence, it’s almost a new event,” Michaud said. “But we’re extremely excited; it’s a beautiful space the city has spent a lot of money on and it’s a tremendous opportunity to bring some people down there to check out the walking trails and everything else that area has to offer.”
But the new location has its benefits, he said. It allows all of the food, vendors and entertainment to be in one place all together, instead of scattered across Main Street.
On top of the construction, the pandemic has created unique hurdles for the event — mainly as it relates to restaurants in the area.
The ongoing staffing problems in the restaurant industry have meant that some restaurants simply don’t have enough workers to come out to the event, Michaud said.
“The biggest challenge we’ve seen this year is probably just from our local restaurants,” Michaud said. “Unfortunately, staffing situations for the local restaurants have been extremely challenging and some restaurants that have participated for years and years and years, are just not able to participate this year, because they don’t have the staff to support the event.”
Similarly, supply chain issues meant that the menus for restaurants were difficult to predict. Normally, the menus are set about a month in advance, Michaud said, but this year it was more like a week out that things were finalized.
“They don’t know from one week to the next whether or not they’re going to get the chicken delivered or the hamburger delivered or what the cost might be,” he said.
Attendees can find the menu online at the event website, tasteofwaterville.com. Five local restaurants will be there: The Last Unicorn, Front and Main, Oak Grove Center, Parsonage House and Portland Pie Co.
In addition to that, there will be 10 “bite booths” with other food options, including Laurie’s Lunch and Pinky D’s Poutine Factory.
Organizers also decided to shift the focus to a more adult-themed event, beginning this year, so there will be no children’s activities. The change comes after extensive surveys and discussions with attendees, sponsors and vendors following the 2019 event, Michaud said.
“The consensus among a lot of those involved, including the restaurants and the sponsors, was that the event was getting too much of a fair atmosphere and is getting away from its origin, which was more toward a great sampling and evening out for adults,” he said.
That’s part of what spurred this year’s new Brew Tasting Punch Cards, which attendees can use at any of the eight breweries for a two-ounce sample. The cards are $20 each, and a limited number will be sold, so Michaud recommended buying them online ahead of the event.
In a similar vein, the vendor section will be more focused on culinary and cultural vendors instead of anyone who wants to have a booth.
Entertainment will include a multitude of musical acts. Music starts at noon at the Chevy Luxury Lounge, which will showcase four acts — Mike Reny, Jim Baumer, Dom Colizzi, and the Colby Drummers — for about an hour each.
The entertainment will then transition to the beer and wine garden, and will feature the Downeast Brass, Borderline Express and Stolen Mojo.
After being unable to hold the event last summer, Michaud said he is more excited than ever to see it return next week and is especially grateful for everyone who helped put it together.
“This event doesn’t come together without all of those people involved, and I can’t stress enough how appreciative I am — even during these challenging times — how many people have stepped up to support this event,” Michaud said. “And we just look forward to seeing the community out and enjoying a great afternoon and evening.”
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