Taste of Durango is this Sunday. The Taste will set up on Main Avenue in downtown from College to 12th Street.
The food booths will be set up a little differently this year, which should help ease congestion. The Taste will continue to have entertainers at multiple intersections inside the event area. There will also be five ticket booths this year, all marked with giant, red balloons that will make them easy to find.
Make sure you take your children to the kids’ area, which is always fun and interactive. There is a wide variety of foods available, so expand your child’s culinary knowledge by getting them involved in what you eat.
The old tokens are no longer valid, so keep those in your Durango souvenir box if you still have some. Tickets are the currency inside the Taste. You can purchase these the day of at the ticket booths, or buy in advance and have yours waiting at will-call.
Plan accordingly for your travel to the Taste. Easiest way to get there is to ride the special shuttle from the fairgrounds or any city bus, including the Main Avenue Trolley.
More information on the Taste of Durango can be found at TasteofDurango.com.
Another great downtown event is the San Juan Brewfest, the largest beer tasting festival in the Four Corners. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 1.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Brewfest, which will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25. Fifty-plus breweries will attend, two bands will play, and it all benefits United Way of Southwest Colorado.
I am proud to say that under the Durango Business Improvement District’s management, the San Juan Brewfest has become one of the biggest events downtown, and even better, it generates nearly $40,000 for our local United Way.
The San Juan Brewfest is not only an event to sample amazing craft beer from around the nation, it is also an economic generator for Durango. The event has sold out for four years running, and it is expected to sell out again with 2,500 attending.
Forty percent of attendees are from out of the area and spend the weekend in Durango. The summer tourist season has slowed down by the very end of August, so this gives merchants one last, good weekend before we move into fall.
There are still sponsorship opportunities available, so if your business wants to be a part of this great event, contact me at 375-5067 or Lynn at United Way at 247-9444. Fewer tickets are being sold this year in order to create a little more room, so don’t forget to mark your calendar for June 1 to make sure you get your tickets.
Visit the Durango Business Improvement District website at DowntownDurango.org and go to the event calendar for information on these events and others.
Tim Walsworth is the executive director of the Durango Business Improvement District. Contact him at timw@downtowndurango.org.
