It’s one of the best times of the year in Downtown Durango, if you like wine and food. Two of my favorite events are coming up in May.
First up is the 12th Durango Wine Experience Thursday through Saturday. The Wine Experience features three days of educational seminars, wine dinners and unique tastings featuring hundreds of wineries, artisan spirits and craft beers.
Most people do not know that the Durango Wine Experience is organized as a nonprofit organization. Every year, it donates proceeds to a local charity. As the event has grown, the local board of directors has hired a coordinator to plan and implement the event.
The two large events each year for the Durango Wine Experience are the Walk About and the Grand Tasting. The Walk About is a multi-location tasting event on Friday. This year, 15 different locations in downtown are hosting a tasting. Not only will you get a taste of wine, you will get a true taste of downtown as well.
Saturday is the Grand Tasting, at its new location this year on the grounds of the Smiley Building. There will be hundreds of wines to sample, along with amazing food from several local restaurants. Tickets for the Grand Tasting are discounted if you buy in advance online.
There are also multiple wine seminars, including a blind tasting of rosés at Animas Chocolate Company and a whiskey and doughnut tasting at Rendezvous Doughnuts. Don’t miss the wine dinners at Seasons and Cyprus Café.
Visit DurangoWine.com for tickets and more details.
Taste of Durango is two weeks later, on Sunday, May 20. The Taste will set up on Main Avenue in downtown from College to 12th Street. It is one of the larger events the downtown hosts each year, with an expected attendance of nearly 12,000.
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The old tokens are no longer valid, so keep those in your Durango souvenir box if you still have some.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.
See you downtown in May for these two great events!
Tim Walsworth is the executive director of the Durango Business Improvement District. Contact him at timw@downtowndurango.org.
