It may have been overcast and raining throughout the day on Saturday, but that didn’t stop over 20 vendors from coming out to this year’s Foodie Fest and sampling their signature food and drinks. The event drew nearly 400 people of all ages and even some from outside of the city.
This is the second year that the Foodie Fest has been held, and the amount of attendees this year was double the turnout from last year. Word definitely spread throughout the town of the success of the event last year, which was one of the main reasons for the attendance level doubling.
Different scents and aromas filled the tent the entire evening. Everyone was encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and experience new tastes and try foods and beverages that they would not have tried otherwise. Each vendor had their own table and unique way of displaying the foods or beverages they had carefully picked out for the event to sample out to hungry attendees.
Both Shayne Kennedy and Katy Westra are veterans of the event, having come both years with full intentions of coming back in years to come. When asked why they decided to attend the event this year in addition to last year Kennedy replied, “I want to support the local businesses” and Westra comically chimed in after, saying, “I love Grove City, and I love food.” Surely a great combination of reasons to attend the festival.
The festival encouraged attendants to sample items and restaurants that they may not otherwise have tried. When asked if she had tried anything that she normally wouldn’t have tried otherwise, Jill Martin, a first time attendee shared, “I’m going over to Bobo’s Rice Bowl in a minute and I didn’t think I’d try that”. Many were given new opportunities to release their taste buds out of their comfort zones and were pleasantly surprised.
The biggest difference this year was an addition of a live band that performed, Treebeard Brown. The group played in a pavilion next to the tent and many were seen singing along and casually tapping their feet to the beat of their music.
In the words of Executive Director, Beth Black, “All together it was a wonderful family friendly event that people are already excited about for next year!”