Take a Taste of Bloomington

There’s only one place in Bloomington where residents can eat foods from 40 different locations without having to walk more than a few steps in between each bite.

The 27th annual Taste of Bloomington will take place at Showers Plaza from 3 to 11 p.m. Saturday.

The annual event, which brings in thousands of guests, will feature food and drinks from 40 local restaurants, breweries and wineries and five concerts from nationally recognized bands.

The entrance fee is $6. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit Hoosier Hills Food Bank and the Community Kitchen of Monroe County.

Tasha Daueherty, director of communications for Bloomington Convention and Visitors Bureau, said students can look forward to a variety of restaurants with gourmet to international cuisine as well as a variety of music genres.

“There will be two stages featuring reggae, polka, blues and hip-hop at the Showers Plaza stage and acoustic music located on the Morton Street stage,” Daueherty said.

Talisha Coppock, co-director for Taste of Bloomington, said Arts Fair on the Square, an arts fair put on by the Bloomington Area Arts Council will take place at the same time as the Taste of Bloomington and will be a great way for attendees to view and buy local artists’ work.

The art fair will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the downtown Bloomington square.

“It’s a great way for attendees to see the 100 shops located throughout downtown Bloomington and the character that’s our town,” Coppock said.

Blooming Branch Green Events will partner with Taste of Bloomington this year to provide “green” event planning services to guide Taste of Bloomington to becoming an environmentally conservative event. Blooming Branch Green Events will provide “Team Green” volunteers to provide recycling services and assist vendors in choosing environmentally safe supplies.

Blooming Branch Green Events’ owner Cristina McGinnis said her company is looking forward to contributing to environmentally safe practices for the event.

“While there is certainly room for improvements at future Taste of Bloomington events, Blooming Branch is proud to be leading the festival in the right direction and hopes that each year there will be an increased effort towards sustainability,” McGinnis said in a press release.

Ron Stanhouse, president of Bloomington Independent Restaurant Association and co-director of Taste of Bloomington, said students can look forward to an array of food and entertainment.

“There will be a lot of restaurants offering unique courses, lots of great food offerings with good value and a fun atmosphere,” Stanhouse said.