A Taste of Downtown Is a Taste of Success
The 21st annual Taste of Downtown kicked off Saturday evening and continued early into Sunday morning in Carson City. From Fifth Street on the event covered 13 city blocks, packing the sidewalks with locals and visitors. With restaurants and bars from near and far all setting up stands with the hopes of being voted Carson City's best, there was no shortage of food, drinks or fun in the thriving heart of downtown.
The event had plenty of hype, at least according to the couple of Julie and Steve Hearn. They have been attending a Taste of Downtown every year since it started and had been looking forward to this year’s event for more than six months! They claimed the best place of the night was at Garibaldi’s and their favorite band was The Cutters. They say that the event seems to get better every single year, and that the more locals who attend the event, the better.
I actually caught up with the bass player of The Cutters, Ivan Gates, and was able to ask him a couple of questions about the event. As a local of Carson his whole life and a life-long love of music, a Taste of Downtown is one of Gate’s favorite events to play at. This year, his fourth consecutive year at the event, he stated that, “Advertising and organization were on par, so the event in general ran much more smoothly than previous years. I think with the added focus on planning, the attendance this year was much more than any other year I've ever seen.”
The smiles of locals and the bands in the streets ran until about 12:30 Sunday morning, but many of the memories, and new places sampled for food and drinks, will certainly be remembered for a long time to come. The new spark in the local food will hopefully boost the local business on Main Street, and if you couldn't attend this year’s event it most certainly needs to be on your calendar to attend next year’s.