Taste of Downtown and American Music Show
July 12-13, Friday 5 p.m. to 12 a.m., Saturday 12 p.m. to 12 a.m.
More than 20 of your favorite downtown restaurants serve up tasty dishes of ethnic, eclectic and classic cuisine for Taste of Downtown to the benefit of all your hungry, and perhaps neglected, taste buds.
Consider just some of the items on the mouthwatering menu: jerk pork taco, antipasto plate, meatloaf cupcakes, blackened salmon slider, cannoli, turkey cranberry cream cheese pretzel slider, fried oyster po’ boys, gyros, fruit fizzy, apple pecan chicken salad sandwiches, New England crab roll and grilled marlin burger. Which will you select to sample? Which will you vote on for the People’s Choice Award for favorite food at the Taste? Admission is $5. Children 12 and under get in free. Food and beverage tickets are $1.
In association with the Taste of Downtown, the American Music Show provides some great jams to listen to while munching on all the scrumptious cuisine.
The lineup for Friday night rocks. ZZ Tripp plays ZZ Top tunes at 6 p.m. Hipbone Sam takes the stage at 7 p.m., with Josh Catalano & the Dirty Thoughts at 8 p.m., The Heard at 9 p.m. and a to-be-announced headliner at 10 p.m.
Starting out Saturday’s musical entertainment are local favorites Josie Lowder Band at 3 p.m. and Emerald Underground at 4:30 p.m. Harmony Deep plays at 5:30 p.m., Debbie Ross Band at 7 p.m., Hurricane Ruth at 8:15 p.m. and at 10:30 p.m. from Tupelo, Miss., Headliner Paul Thorn Band.
The Taste will also feature the Artification Mural Project this year. Artist Michael Mayosky is painting the side of the Alamo building, one of several to-come downtown murals. Make sure to check it out at 115 N. Fifth Street, at the northwest corner of the festival.
If you really want to make it a complete weekend, consider a special downtown overnight package that includes admission and food and beverage tickets to the Taste of Downtown with your hotel room booking. For more information on the festival, phone Downtown Springfield, Inc. at 217-544-1723.
