After last year’s near monsoon at the first ever Taste of St. Mary’s held in Greenwell State Park, the St. Mary’s County Chamber of Commerce decided to find another home for the event – a fall festival of food and fun.
Bill Scarafia, president of the chamber said, “We looked for a place to host the event and Leonardtown stepped up. We also decided to the move the date from late Oct. to Sept. because of all the competing events.” The event will be held in the Leonardtown Square on Sunday, Sept. 28.
Scarafia went on to say that the first Taste of St. Mary’s, even with bad weather, which threatened to deteriorate further, was a moderate success. “This year we already have more participants than last year and the setting in the town square should help make the event more successful than before.”
Taste of St. Mary’s is a gastrointestinal extravaganza where those in attendance get to sample food from participating restaurants featuring local menus. “This year we decided to just let people pay one admittance price which would cover all the food,” said Scarafia. “That way, the restaurants only have to work on preparing and serving the food without worrying about making change or handling money.”
The year’s event being held from noon to 5 p.m. will feature more live entertainment, children’s activities, free parking and music. “We want it to be a day of family fun and entertainment,” said Scarafia.
Each participating restaurant will also be competing for various awards. Taste of St. Mary’s judges will pick the Best Appetizer, Best Entrée, Best Specialty Item and Best Dessert. The final award will be given to the restaurant judged to be the best by the people attending the event. That restaurant will receive the People’s Choice award.
Scarafia indicated that there were still opening for restaurants wishing to participate. “They can call the chamber offices or get registration information from our web site.”
Call (301) 737-3001 or visit www.smcchamber.com for more information.