Community Corner

After 11 Years, It Tastes Just as Sweet

The 11th Annual Taste of Southington will draw a crowd to the Barnes Museum and event organizers hope the Aug. 8 event will draw the biggest turnout yet.

Eleven years ago, members of the Library Board and staff at the Barnes Museum came together in an effort to find a way to promote local businesses and draw residents to the grounds of the historic home.

From that, the annual Taste of Southington was born.

The classic summer event, which has become a favorite for residents in the area, returns in 2012 with an event that promises to offer the taste of the town. On Aug. 8, the grounds of will be transformed as 12 local restaurants come together to offer a little bit of everything, from pies and cupcakes to pizza, hot dogs and more.

“It’s about togetherness. It’s about Southington people patronizing our local businesses, which is something I have always been passionate about,” said Marie Secondo director of the Barnes Museum. “This is an event that helps promote businesses in the community and with so many people out of work, it helps bolster our local economy.”

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The 11th Annual Taste of Southington will feature five new businesses this year, a few which have opened their doors in town since last summer. New participants include the American and Italian based foods of , desserts and more from Sixpence Pie Company and , a variety of Italian treats from the new and a tasting of flavors from .

Returning businesses include , ,  , , Saint’s Restaurant and Catering, and Zingarella Pizzeria and Ice Cream Café.

Michael Welch, executive chef at , said proved to be a success in helping draw patrons to the downtown business and he hopes some of the new restaurants will be able to enjoy similar success with the 11th annual event.

Secondo said the 2012 event is unique in that it is the first year that the event will be exclusively sponsored by a local business, with offering to take on all costs associated with advertising, set-up and operating the event.

“The town used to give us money for the event, but we weren’t able to receive funding this year,” Secondo said. “We considered cutting back, but when we reached out, TD Bank immediately stepped up and offered to sponsor the whole event.”

The event will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Barnes Museum. There is no fee to enter, although restaurants charge a small fee for individual foods.

Bring your hunger. Bon appetite!

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