The Taste of Charlotte festival began in 1999 with 23 local restaurants. Throughout the years, the event has grown along with the festival attendance. In 2000, the festival moved to the heart of Uptown Charlotte on Tryon Street from Martin Luther King Jr Blvd to 6th Street. For the 2001 event, expanded from 2 days to the current 3-day event. It was a great addition welcoming thousands of Uptown Charlotte workers the opportunity to enjoy the festival during their lunch on Friday afternoon. Today, Taste of Charlotte proudly boasts over 30 Restaurants, more than 100 menu items and over 100 Unique Sponsors!
The Adventure Village Kids Area arrived in 2001 providing interactive kids activities for a nominal fee or in some circumstances, free of charge. Kids can enjoy inflatable jumpers and games, rides and obstacle courses.
Tavern at the Taste had festival guests raising their glasses in 2002. Tavern at the Taste is a great spot to cool off and relax with micro-brews, a variety of wine and live music on the Tavern Stage.
In 2005, The MarketPlace brought a unique, open-air shopping experience to the festival with a wide variety of handmade arts and crafts including purses, pottery, jewelry, woodcraft, boutique style clothing and much more.
And be sure not to miss the highly anticipated, Corona Light Race to the Taste 5K that is being held Saturday, June 7th at 9 am! The 1st Annual 5K will start and finish at the Taste of Charlotte Festival. Make the race even more appetizing, runner will receive a premium race shirt, awesome swag bag, fun gifts, Corona Lights (after the run and only for those “of age”) and a Taste of Charlotte super coin to purchase any food item at the festival.
This year’s festival is being held June 6-8th with hours on Friday & Saturday from 11 am – 11 pm and on Sunday from 11 am – 6 pm. Admission to Taste of Charlotte is FREE! Coins are used to purchase food, beverages and kid’s activities. A large cup of coins contains 15 coins and can be purchased for $20. A small cup of coins contains 7 coins. New this year, you can purchase a wristband for kid’s activities and play all day!
