North Carolina’s largest food festival is set to return for its 20th Year in the streets of uptown Charlotte welcoming Food Lion as its title sponsor. The event, which drewapproximately 130,000 visitors last year, offers a mix of family entertainment, uniqueshopping, live music, kid’s activities, a wide array of beer and fine wine along with morethan 100 menu items for sampling from a collection of Charlotte’s hottest restaurants.There is no cost for admission to Taste of Charlotte. Food samples and beverages canbe purchased with festival coins, available at Coin Booths along Tryon Street.
Planned Attractions Include:Food Lion Produce Stand: Stop by the Food Lion Farm Fresh Produce Stand for sweet andsavory samples of fresh fruits, vegetables and more!
Entertainment Presented by UBEReats: Featuring local & regional bands playing your favorite80’s, 90’s pop, rock and country music.
Wine Cellar presented by Ravage Wines: Offers a variety of wines in a festive outdoorenvironment. Live music on the stage sets the backdrop for fun casual conversation.Tavern at the Taste Presented by Corona Light: A unique tavern offering a selection of wines and beers, as well as live music on the Auto Tavern Stage and a dining area.
Challenge Butter Cooking Kitchen: Join area chefs as they prepare simple recipes onsite.Demos are each hour all weekend long. Watch them cook and try the samples!
The MarketPlace: An eclectic open air shopping experience featuring handcrafted originaldesigns from home accents and local jams to candles and custom jewelry…. along Tryon Street between Trade and 4th.
Shipt Kids Area: Interactive play areas with adventurous activities for children of all ages.From Trampolines & Climbing Walls to Bounce Houses & Obstacle Courses. All games use Coins, not cash. Kids can PLAY ALL DAY…Get your wristband at any coin booth for $15!
Community Stage: Also enjoy local groups performing throughout the entire weekend including karate demos, free workouts, cheerleaders and local dance groups!
Race to the Taste 5k Presented by Truliant Federal Credit Union: Taste of Charlotte’s 5thAnnual 5k and Cupcake Run/Walk will start and finish at Taste of Charlotte Festival onSaturday, June 9th Register on TasteofCharlotte.com
Taste of Charlotte will be recycling: As always, recycling containers can be found throughoutthe site at the Taste. Plastic & Aluminum beverage bottles can be recycled in specifiedcontainers located throughout the event. Last year Taste was able to recycle over 38% of thewaste...we’re looking to top that this year by composting at one of our six coin booths through apartnership with Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful and Crown Town Composting!
More About Taste of CharlotteCelebrating 20 years of Taste, the event is locally owned and managed by CenturionEntertainment, Inc. For more information on Taste of Charlotte, visit www.TasteofCharlotte.com.
Street Closures
The managing staff of Taste of Charlotte works with the City of Charlotte to make as little impact as possible on daily commuting of uptown workers.The plan used this year is the same plan as last year’s Taste of Charlotte festival. When the festival moves into uptown Charlotte to begin setup on Thursday, June 7th, Tryon Street from Stonewall to Fifth Street will close at 9:00 am. Trade Street from Church to College will also close at 9:00am on Thursday, June 7th. The cross streets of Levine, MLK, Third, and Fourth and will remain open until 6:00pm following rush hour traffic on Thursday afternoon. At 6:00pm on Thursday, June 7th, these cross streets will close for the night. The intersections Third and Fourth Streets will reopen from 6:00 a.m. – 9:00am on Friday, June 8th for rush hour traffic. Note that Levine Ave, MLK nor Trade re-open on Friday morning….once they close on Thursday they do not reopen until Sunday.
Following the rush-hour traffic, on Friday, June 8th the following will be closed to traffic for the entire weekend: Tryon Street between Stonewall and 5th Street Stonewall and 5th Street will remain open all weekend, Levine Ave from Tryon to Church Streets, MLK Street from College to Church Streets, Third Street from College to Church Streets, Fourth Street from College to Church streets, Trade Street from College to Church streets. The streets listed above will reopen in time for Monday morning rush hour.
Parking
Many spaces are available for parking on the streets, all free after 6 p.m. and all day on the weekends.There’s also plenty of parking available in the numerous decks and lots in the Center City. You can also find a map and other information regarding parking uptown at www.CharlotteCenterCity.org Please note that these garages and lots may charge a flat or hourly rate for parking.
Ride
Ride a FREE ofo bike to Taste of Charlotte 2018 with the Promo Code: TOC2018Hours of Operation:Taste of Charlotte will take place on Tryon Street between Stonewall and Fifth Street June 8-10. The festival is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.