Taste of Parkersburg savors another successful year
Photo by Madeline Scarborough Crowds of people came out Saturday evening to enjoy the 14th annual Taste of Parkersburg at Bicentennial Park in downtown Parkersburg.
Photo by Madeline Scarborough Lines of people were still filing in at 7 p.m. Saturday, two hours after the event had kicked off.
Photo by Madeline Scarborough There were 42 vendors in total, and people lined up to start trying all the food those vendors had brought to the event.
Photo by Madeline Scarborough Crowds of people came out Saturday evening to enjoy the 14th annual Taste of Parkersburg at Bicentennial Park in downtown Parkersburg.
Photo by Madeline Scarborough Lines of people were still filing in at 7 p.m. Saturday, two hours after the event had kicked off.
Photo by Madeline Scarborough There were 42 vendors in total, and people lined up to start trying all the food those vendors had brought to the event.
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PARKERSBURG -- The weather was great, and thousands of people dressed up for a night on the town gathered downtown to try local food, beers and wines at the 14th annual Taste of Parkersburg on Saturday.
Wendy Shriver, executive director of Downtown PKB, said the event located in downtown Parkersburg's Bicentennial Park featured a mix of new and returning vendors.
"This year we have 42 vendors," Shriver said Saturday.
Among the food vendors were Philippines Best Food, Tampico Mexican Restaurant, Parkersburg Brewing Co., Chams Lebanese Cuisine, Belair's Bistro & Catering, Hot Dog Willy's, The Changed Plate, Brunello Restaurant & Bar, Mulberry Lane Country Store, Camden Clark Medical Center, Aladdin Food Management, Bohio Mexican Grill, El Mariachi -- Parkersburg, Holl's Chocolate and The Coffee Bar.
The wine vendors included Toscano in Appalachia, Chestnut Ridge, Stone Road Vineyards, Winetree Vineyards, Gallo, Constellation Brands, Delicato, Trinchero, Jackson Family Wines, The Wine Group, Deutsch, West Virginia Fruit and Berry and Kysela. There was beer from Capitol Distributors, Mountain State Beverage and Spriggs Distributors.
Bob and Becky Titchenal, with West Virginia Fruit and Berry in Bridgeport, said this was their fourth year attending Taste of Parkersburg.
"There are a lot of foreign wines here today, but ours comes completely from West Virginia, even the ingredients are indigenous to our area," Becky Titchenal said.
"The attendance is up, and there are a lot of new faces," Shriver said, adding that all the reserved tables had been sold this year.
Rene Williams, manager of The Cleared Plate, said she enjoyed that the city has events like this, so that the community can be given a chance to try out new local restaurants they may not have tried before.
"We are still new, and this event helps us spread the word about who we are and where we are located."
"We have been coming for the past three or four years," said Emily Burdette, of Charleston.
"My husband got me to come the first time, and after that we have made it kind of like a tradition," she said.
Burdette said she is originally from Parkersburg and this is a nice way to stay connected to the community.
"Everyone comes out here, and it is such a great event," she said.
Shriver attributed much of this year's growth to support from the marketing bureau.
"The Taste of Parkersburg is a good thing for businesses here and community to see how we have revitalized the downtown," Shriver said.
"This is a big social event, and we couldn't do it without the support of our over 100 volunteers and all our sponsors," she said.
Downtown PKB has another event this coming weekend in Parkersburg. The 2019 Point Park Music Series will kick off at 8 p.m. Friday in the Point Park Amphitheatre.
The free concert series is organized by Downtown PKB on the first Friday of each month offering a variety of tribute performances. The first show Friday will feature "1988," a Def Leppard tribute band. Other upcoming shows include "Eliminator," a ZZ Top tribute band, on July 5, "Let's Groove Tonight Band," an Earth, Wind and Fire tribute band, on Aug. 2, and "Tom Watt -- The Buffettman," a Jimmy Buffett tribute band, on Sept. 6.