By Kaye Bennett
The second annual Taste of Vicksburg, to be held Saturday, June 28, promises to be even bigger than last year’s event which attracted between 2,000 and 3,000 people, according to the event’s sponsor, the Vicksburg Area Chamber of Commerce.
Steve McCowen, Chamber president, said organizers have planned attractions to appeal to many different kinds of taste, from food and beverage to art and music and style.
“Our goal is to educate people about what we have in Vicksburg,” he said. “Vicksburg is a fun place, and this is another way for people to have a good time right here in town.”
The heart of the Taste is, of course, food and drink. This year, 11 local food vendors will be stationed at tables along Prairie Street from 3 to 7 p.m., with each table offering a house specialty.
Tickets for food samples will be available at three downtown locations. And the ever-popular beer tent, on Prairie Street in front of the Hideaway, will be open from 3 to 11 p.m.
For art lovers, Taste of Vicksburg is ready to please. An Art Hop will be staged along Main Street from 3 to 8 p.m. with about 15 local artists showing their work.
The Little Bulldogs Learning Center staff will host games for children in the closed-off street in front of the artists’ displays.
If your taste is more toward personal appearance, you can even get a haircut from 1 to 5 p.m. Trimming locks on the corner of Main and Washington Streets, volunteer stylists will charge $10 for haircuts, with all proceeds going to raise money for uniforms for the Vicksburg High School marching band.
The event is also prepared to pamper your musical tastes. Taste of Vicksburg 2014 is hosting Dani Jamerson and her popular country rock band from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and the David Shelby band, from 9 to 11 p.m.
Shelby, who describes his sound as “Rust Belt Country,” says it melds the rock-and-roll history of Detroit with the country sound of Nashville. His debut album, “Rust Belt Cowboy,” released in 2013, has been hugely successful.
Proceeds from last year’s Taste of Vicksburg were used by the Chamber to finance local projects, including its new website and equipment for the Halloween Haunted House, said McCowen.
For more information about this year’s Taste of Vicksburg, visit vicksburgchamber.com, or e-mail connect@vicksburgchamber.com.