Last year's Taste of Downtown event brought in food fans young and old.
Image Credit: INSTAGRAM- Downtown Kamloops
July 11, 2019 - 12:17 PM
KAMLOOPS - If you wanted to try some Kamloops restaurants but can't decide which ones — A Taste of Downtown is your answer.
This year’s event takes place on July 20 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., with some restaurants participating until 3 p.m. Tickets will be on sale Monday, July 15.
Jake Andrykew of Downtown Kamloops explains that the planning process came a little late this year.
“It was a little bit more difficult to get organized this year just with the timeline, we ran into a couple of issues that caused it first, to be delayed, and second, there was more difficulty organizing it,” Andrykew says.
Tickets for the event go for $20 and include five tokens, each to be redeemed at participating downtown restaurants. The restaurants will provide a sample of some of their dishes and drinks. Red Collar Brewing, Forno on 5th, Mittz Kitchen and Cordo Restaurant and Bar are just a few of the fifteen businesses taking part.
“It’s very much just a celebration of downtown restaurants and the diversity of food that we have to offer,” Andrykew says.
The number of restaurants taking part is lower this year than in previous years, but Andrykew says that most people are happy with only five samples. Additional individual tokens can be purchased for $4 each for those with a bigger appetite.
“People are usually satiated after the five that they get because the restaurants give a considerable sample,” he says.
Some of the restaurants participating will set up tents at Victoria Street and 3rd Avenue on the “Sizzle Strip” where people can enjoy the fresh air and taste various foods. Guests will be entertained with live music, though Andrykew says no performers have been named yet.
The annual fundraiser supports the Kamloops Food Bank and the Artisans Alive music program.
“25 per cent of the proceeds goes towards each of those, to the food banks and to the (Artisans Alive music program). The remaining 50 per cent goes back to the businesses that participate,” explains Andrykew.
Last year, the fundraiser brought in $2,410 for the Kamloops Food Bank and the same for Artisans Alive.
“We run Artisans Alive, so it’s essentially putting that money back into a program that we’re going to run again next year,” Andrykew says.
Artisans Alive brings musicians to the streets of Kamloops throughout the summer. All performances happen in the downtown core at various locations, but no schedule is out yet.
“Money that is earned this year will go back into improving that program in years to come, ” Andrykew says.
You can check out the event website here for more information on Taste of Downtown and Artisans Alive.
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