Carson City alive with food and music Saturday at 20th annual Taste of DownTown

Tickets are still available for the capital city's premiere summer event, the 20th annual Taste of DownTown Carson City, which returns Saturday with a feast for foodies that stretches 13 blocks.

More than 40 restaurants and ten live bands are on tap for this favorite Northern Nevada event to benefit Advocates to End Domestic Violence.

From tangy barbecue ribs to piping hot pizza and lasagna, tacos, sushi rolls and decadent desserts, there's more than enough food to around for the three-and-a-half hour culinary bonanza. Tasting begins at 5:30 p.m. from Telegraph to 10th Street and continues until 9 p.m. Live bands will be located throughout downtown with music playing until midnight.

A mix of Carson City restaurants will dish it up and hand it out at their own downtown sites while restaurants, pubs and grills from outside the downtown area will serve their faire from locations on streets and sidewalks with live bands scattered in between. Go here for a list of participating restaurants.

Tickets are $35 and can be purchased here. Online ticket sales opportunities will end at midnight Friday. Call the office with any questions, (775) 883-7654.

If you would like to be guaranteed a ticket, you can call the AEDV office at (775) 883-7654 and get your name on the list.

You can also buy tickets at Classy Seconds: 411 Hot Springs Road, Carson City; (775) 841-7081. It is open from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday; 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Sat; 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sun. Classy Seconds will accept cash or debit/credit in person.

The Advocates to End Domestic Violence office has credit/debit capabilities. You can call the office at (775) 883-7654 to order over phone with credit/debit and pick up the day of the event at the information booth on the steps of City Hall.

Twenty years ago, Advocates was a struggling non-profit looking for every avenue to raise revenue. The first year of the Taste, the agency also participated in 17 additional fundraisers.  The first Taste included 7 restaurants and 1 band.  Advocates Executive Director Lisa Lee and a then current Board member, stood downtown, looked around, and thought, "success."

"The event was a win-win, no other fundraiser in Carson City like it, meaning no competition, it promoted restaurants, local businesses, and downtown and generated awareness and revenue for Advocates," said Lee.

The Taste has continued to grow because it is a different type of fundraiser, it is a summer activity which is looked forward to annually by many. It is like the annual summer coming out street party, said Advocates Office Manager Terri Farnworth.

The first year of the event, it was advertised that there would be a limit of 500 tickets. Advocates was hoping to sell 250 and would have been thrilled at that.  But, it sold out.

The limited number of tickets being sold has increased to meet the public demand.  Advocated had to cap the total at 2,000 to enable the restaurants the ability to produce quality tastes for the ticketholders as well as maintain regular evening dining opportunities for other patrons.

The event is important to Advocates as it is the primary fundraiser for the shelter. The profit from this event will pay for the utilities in the shelter for a year.  Advocates has the largest domestic violence shelter in Northern Nevada. For Carson City and local businesses, it is a showcase opportunity.

Many people’s efforts go into making the event a success. Advocates will use more than 150 volunteers along with support from Carson City agencies — from the Permit Department, Health Department, Parks and Rec, and the Streets Department, sheriff’s office — to the fire department. 

Many people have a role in assisting us with the success of the Taste. Carson City is at its best that night, streets are alive, music at every corner, the smells of the restaurants cooking outside, the clustering of people meeting up with old friends and making new.