JESSICA SHAMBAUGH
Daily Reporter
Columbus is home to a multitude of diverse restaurants, caterers and bakeries, with new eating opportunities opening regularly.
For many, that means new date night locations or family food adventures, but for area chambers of commerce it translates to an excellent fund-raising opportunity.
Throughout the last few years, it seems as though every one of the neighborhoods that makes up Columbus has played host to a “Taste of...” festival.
The area chambers spend most of the year planning an elaborate collaboration of local businesses, celebrity judges and large corporate sponsors and the results seem to be a hit.
“In previous years we’ve had an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people come through over a five to six hour period,” said Teresa Conway, the events planner for the Upper Arlington Area Chamber of Commerce.
Earlier this year, the chamber hosted the 20th annual Taste of Upper Arlington.
The event was in August and Conway said it rained all day and all night for the group’s special day, but even that couldn’t keep community members at bay.
She said attendance was down, but she still had vendors reporting to her that plenty of people stopped by their booths.
The Bexley Area Chamber of Commerce will host the fifth annual Taste of Bexley festival at the Franklin Park Conservatory on Monday evening.
Colleen Krupp, chairwoman of the event, said the event has drawn up to 700 people depending on the weather and they’re expecting a good crowd this year.
The festival will have fare from 23 local restaurants, all vying for the coveted “gold spoon” indicating they’ve earned the top-ranking among the event’s celebrity judges.
The judges rank the top three restaurants and give out gold, silver and bronze spoons.
Attendees of the event were able to purchase tickets for $25 in advance or pay $30 at the door.
Each ticket holder will be given access to the Franklin Park Conservatory for the night and unlimited samples from the many food vendors.
“It is sample sizes, but I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re small,” Krupp said. “You definitely don’t leave the event hungry and there’s always plenty of food. I usually do the food first and then I go back and make a second trip for desserts.”
Krupp said her chamber has been planning the event since February and will spend between $7,000 and $10,000 hosting the event.
Large corporate sponsors such as White Castle help to soften that blow and Krupp said the group should have no problem turning a profit through things like ticket sales and raffle proceeds.
That profit will then go back to the chamber and from there will be returned to the community through small business support and sponsorships of other local events.
The Gahanna Area Chamber of Commerce hosted it’s 16th annual Taste of Gahanna festivities last night at the Aladdin Shrine Center.
Chamber President Leslee Blake said last year the event brought in about 850 attendees and judging by online ticket sales she anticipated more than that number this year.
Because the event takes place in October, the chamber decided to spice things up by adding a costume competition to this year’s event.
“It’s a party and we encourage people to dress up and get into it and kick off the holiday right before Halloween,” Blake said.
She said her chamber has also been in planning mode since February and thanks to corporate sponsorship its only cost comes from renting the Aladdin Shrine Center, a fee that is covered by selling $25 to $30 tickets.
But, Blake and Krupp said their chambers aren’t the only ones benefiting from the fund-raiser.
“I think it provides (the restaurants) with exposure,” Blake said.
Krupp said she’s definitely started choosing restaurants more often based one her experience at Taste of Bexley.
“It’s kind of fun places that I wouldn’t necessarily have gone to, but now they’re on my list of ‘Oh, we have to go try this!’” she said.
The Taste of Bexley will take place Monday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.BexleyAreaChamber.org.