Normally this time of year, more than 30 restaurants come together to celebrate with food and music at Addison Circle Park.

It’s one of the town’s biggest events, but a virtual festival will take its place this weekend.

Jasmine Lee is Addison’s director of special events. She said the staff was missing the festival and decided to create an online platform for those missing it too.

“It’s a tradition for a lot of families, even younger families that attended as kids and are now they’re grown bringing their own children out to Taste Addison,” Lee said. “With all of the things that we lost during these temporary changes we’ve had to make with the pandemic, we just wanted to help keep a little bit of continuity.”

Taste Addison is the town’s only event that brings in national talent. This year, Flo Rida and Third Eye Blind were to headline the festival, along with Lit, Hoobastank, and Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

Photo: Taste of Addison

Lee said as many as 25,000 visitors usually attend the festival.

The virtual Taste Addison will take place on  Visit Addison’s Facebook and Instagram, where about 17 videos will come from Addison restaurant chefs on what they’ve been making, the story of their restaurant. Mixologists and brewmasters will show viewers how to make drinks. While live music won’t happen this year, Taste Addison will curate Spotify playlists that feature the artists who were to headline the festival.

Restaurants participating in the virtual festival include Best Thai, Bitter Sisters, Blue Mesa, Cantina Laredo, Delicious Cakes, Fogo de Chao, I Fratelli, Ida Claire, May Dragon, Nate’s Seafood, Red Crab, Shake Shack, Sigree Grill Indian, Spice of Life, Stirr, Thai Orchid and Table 13.

During the virtual Taste Addison, the 2021 music headliners will be announced.

“Hopefully, with these playlists, with this video footage and with most of our restaurants now open for take-out, dine-in, delivery,” Lee said. “It can give people a taste of what they would have had at the festival.”

Virtual Taste Addison will run this weekend:

2-8 p.m. Friday, May 29

11 a.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday, May 30

Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 31

Got a tip? Email Mia Estrada at mestrada@kera.org. You can follow her on Twitter @miaaestrada.

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