Taste of Edmonton opens up, welcomes kids in beer garden

Taste of Edmonton is back in all its culinary glory, boasting changes this year to make it easier to enjoy beer and wine with your food, alongside your family.

"You'll notice that Taste of Edmonton this year has opened up quite a bit,"Paul Lucas, the festival's general manager, said Thursday.

A bigger area of Churchill Square is licensed, including the area in front of the concert stage, and around it.

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In previous years, alcohol was restricted to the beer tent and kids weren't allowed in.

Everyone is allowed in the licensed square but children under 18 must be accompanied by adults.

"We're trying to give it more of a feel of easy, outdoor al fresco," Lucas explained.  

Dubbed the Taste Piazza, the open square is meant to "create completely different dining experience on the square with comfy seating, lots of greenery, lots of shade," Lucas said.

Now in its 33rd year, Taste of Edmonton calls itself the largest food festival in Canada.

The outdoor event, which began Thursday and continues until July 29, brings together local restaurants offering samples of delicious food items against a backdrop of live music and mingling.

Popular with patrons and vendors

"I really love the new set-up here," patron Scott Kee told CBC Thursday. "It's a lot more open.

"With a lot more seating I think it's going to be a lot more comfortable for families and a lot more people."

Booths are set up along 102nd Avenue, 99th Street and 102A Avenue in a single line, down from two rows in previous years, making it easier to navigate the crowds.

"I love the changes," said Ron Singh with Irie Foods Caribbean Cuisine. "I think this is a way better set-up. It gives all the vendors a good opportunity to kind of show off what they have."

This year's festival features 46 food vendors, including eight new restaurants.

A place to try 'new things'

Festival-goer Phebe Ogundibe tried Chinese and Korean dishes and said she likes the setting for Taste of Edmonton.

"It's kind of good for people like me to try a little bit of new things," she said. "[I'm] looking forward to going to one of those restaurants when we're available." 

Vendors can charge a maximum of four tickets for a dish, Lucas said. Most items require about three tickets at $1.50 each.

The festival has worked closely with Vegans and Vegetarians of Alberta, which is sponsoring a vegan and vegetarian day on July 25 as part of an event called Taste of New.

"We do try to promote healthy eating, healthy lifestyles," Lucas said.

Taste of New will celebrate bacon on July 27 and Alberta beef on July 28.

Taste of Edmonton will have concerts every night with 30 bands on the roster, including Bif Naked on July 22, Hawksley Workman on July 26 and I Mother Earth on July 28.

The festival is also hosting a Canadian Food Championships event Friday and Saturday, which is part of a year-long search for Canada's best amateur and professional chefs.