There will still be plenty of good food and beverages at Taste of Carmel. But there will be one key difference from past versions of the event when it is held March 3 at the 502 East Event Centre.
The Carmel Education Foundation is hosting the event for the first time. Taste of Carmel previously was sponsored by the Orchard Park Elementary PTO. The school was closed after the 2020-21 school year.
“When they closed, we adopted it to become a districtwide event,” CEF Executive Director Jennifer Penix said.
In a notable change, Penix said there will be tributes to each of the 15 schools in the district.
“Our role as a foundation is a partnership with all schools,” Penix said. “We’ll have the recognition through photos, and some of our decor will focus on those school relationships.”
The theme of Taste of Carmel is “Come Sail Away!”
“There is a nautical theme throughout with the decor,” Penix said.
The event was canceled in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It (was presented) in 2020 (several) days before everything shut down (in March),” Penix said.
Carmel City Council Vice President Jeff Worrell is the 2022 honorary event chair. He has been the emcee since 2014.
There will be food and cocktail tasting, an auction, entertainment and a raffle for the 21-and-older event. The raffle will be for a bike from Pedego Electric Bikes, and jewelry from Diamonds Direct.
Penix said proceeds will help kick off a student grant program this fall and to increase the quantity and amount of teacher grants.
“It also will go to increase our scholarship awards to seniors,” Penix said. “We also want to immediately give a grant to each school to celebrate their community within their schools.”
The event will feature 45 food and beverage vendors.
The State Bank First Taste VIP Party starts at 5 p.m. with reserve table entry at 6 p.m. and general entry at 6:30 p.m. VIP tickets are $100. A reserve table of 10 costs $1,000. A limited number of VIP tickets and reserve tables remain. General entry tickets are $60.
For more, visit tasteofcarmelindiana.com.