Taste of Bloomington, scheduled for June 17, canceled for 4th year in a row
For the fourth year in a row, the Taste of Bloomington festival, that's usually the third Saturday in June, has been canceled.
Social media posts letting Bloomington residents, restaurants and musicians know it won't be happening on June 17 were posted Feb. 23 by Downtown Bloomington Inc.
Talisha Coppock, executive director of Downtown Bloomington, said there were multiple reasons for the Taste's committee announcing the cancellation. Committee members believed it wasn't possible to put on the quality event that Taste of Bloomington has been in the past. She cited the difficulties of dealing with a festival of up to 10,000 people in an area that's less open, the struggles restaurants have in supplying enough "small bites of food" and staff and, ultimately, the cost.
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"One of the goals of it was to be a fundraising event," Coppock said, adding while the profits weren't large each year, there was enough to donate to Community Kitchen, Hoosier Hills Food Bank and Downtown Bloomington. But this year, the margin was too close, for Downtown Bloomington and participating restaurants.
"These festivals that happen come at a cost," Coppock explained. "Being fiscally responsible is part of continuing."
Taste of Bloomington has been a quality event for the 20-plus years it operated and that needs to continue, she said. At the 2019 festival, there were three stages with live music, scores of restaurants selling food and drinks and activities for children and young adults. The hundreds of volunteers and partners who have helped in past years have been "amazing" but "it didn't feel right yet," Coppock said.
Before COVID-19 shuttered the festival for several years, Coppock said there were more security protocols that had to be followed and financed as the venue area became more enclosed. Even so, Coppock believes it was an important all-ages, family-friendly event for Bloomington to celebrate the beginning of summer.
"It was a fabulous event. It was wonderful," she said. "We need to adhere to those and if we can't meet those, rethink it. ... We're open to take on a model that makes more sense."
Coppock said she and the committee are interested if there are other organizations who want to help or take over Taste. "It needs a good solid financial backer to make it all work," she said.
Downtown Bloomington and its partners remain committed to a variety of events and activities in the downtown area, she said. Those other events will remain and give residents and visitors an opportunity to come together for the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market (beginning April 1), Food Truck Friday (beginning April 7) and two events on June 10: Granfalloon and the Handmade Market.
Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com, 812-331-4359 or @ckugler on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Taste of Bloomington, scheduled for June 17, canceled for 4th year
