EDMONDS, Wash, August 26, 2021 – Edmonds Chamber of Commerce’s Taste Twenty One festival kicked off with a blast August 20 through 22, offering three days of live music, food trucks, corn hole tournaments, and a two-acre beer garden to thousands of attendees.
After a year off due to the pandemic, the festival returned as a 21-and-up event at Frances Anderson Center Field, just one-fifth the size of Civic Park, where the festival has taken place in previous years. Construction at Civic Park brought the change in venue.
The venue change led the Chamber to drastically modify the programming, distilling the event to focus on live music, the beer and wine garden, 8-10 food trucks, and a few select major sponsors. Additional vendors could not be featured this year.
Based on the reduced capacity and higher production costs, day-of ticket sales leaped from $5 to $30 this year. The ticket sales support free community events in Edmonds, events such as the 4th of July Parade, the fireworks show, Halloween trick-or-treat night, Edmonds Classic: Car and Motorcycle Show, and the tree lighting ceremony.
In addition, Taste raises thousands of dollars which is donated to local nonprofits and service clubs. On Sunday, in recognition of the less-than-ideal weather, tickets were also reduced as a “crappy weather discount” to only $10.
On August 3, the Edmonds City Council unanimously approved The Taste Edmonds event contract for 2021, marking the return of this widely anticipated summer outing.
Many rocking music acts took the stage, including One Love Bridge, Heart by Heart, Hair Nation, and the Beatniks on Friday; Petty Thief, Prom Date Mixtape, The Infinity Project, Washed in Black, and the Atomic Punks on Saturday; and Robbie Dee’s Tribute to Elvis, Mas Tequila, Whiplash Smile; and Nite Wave on Sunday.
While festival-goers enjoyed tributes to classic rock and the 1980s, they had the opportunity to enjoy some tasty treats from an assortment of food trucks, including Alaska Weathervane Scallop, Edmonds College, Island Creamery Concessions, Kaleenka Piroshky, Langostino Sushi Burrito, The Cheese Pit, and Thai-U-Up, paired with a list of craft breweries and wine by local winery Proletariat in the beer and wine gardens.
The Taste was sponsored by Alaska Airlines, Columbia Distributing, Constellation Brands, The Everett Clinic Edmonds, Tulalip Resort Casino, and the following premium members:
- Windermere Edmonds WA
- DME CPA Group PC
- The Trike Stop Childcare Center & Preschool
- Fortive Corporation
- Edmonds Yacht Club
- FIS Foundation for International Services
- First Financial Northwest Bank
- Ameritrust
- Beresford Booth PLLC
- WILL CHEN, CPA, PLLC
- Rotary Club of Edmonds Daybreakers
- Coastal Community Bank
- North Sound Church
- Workhorse HQ
- Community Transit
- Maverick Gaming
- Zapora Consulting
- Sound Estate Planning
- Beck’s Tribute Center
- Harbor Square
Tracy Balmores is the winner of the Taste Twenty-One raffle for Alaska Airlines tickets!
As with the sponsors, the event could not be made possible without its humble and hard-working volunteers. For more information on volunteering for future Taste festivals or other Edmonds Chamber’s community events visit https://edmondschamber.com/volunteer/.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
