There’s a strange reoccurrence. As Taste Addison returns, people keep calling the food and music festival something different — “Taste of Addison” and several other names. 

Jasmine Lee is Addison’s special director of events. She says, unlike other places, the festival is more than a “taste of” the city. 

“We’re not saying you’re getting a little piece of Addison, we invite you to come and be a part and actually taste Addison, be a part of Addison,” Lee said. Watch the video below to see how many people get the name wrong.

That’s exactly what this year’s line-up looks like. Taste Addison curates a menu of culinary treats and foods that showcases the cities celebrated restaurant history. 

On June 4-5, visitors can sample food from over two dozen of the more than 180 restaurants in Addison, a compact 4.4-square mile enclave. This year is also one of the festival’s most culturally diverse food-wise, adding Latin, Ethiopian and Mediterranean to more traditional foods like burgers, pizza and turkey legs. 

The musical entertainment is also a big part of the celebration. It’s the town’s only event that brings in national talent. Rapper-singer Flo Rida will headline on Friday and Third Eye Blind will headline the festival on Saturday, along with other rock bands like Hoobastank, Lit and the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. The David Whiteman Band, Emerald City Band and tribute band Satisfaction: the International Rolling Stones Show will also make appearances. 

As many as 20,000 visitors attended previous festivals, but Lee said this year, the event has a limited capacity of 10,000 a day and already she’s noticing that there’s a hunger to get out of the house.

“Ticket sales are four times what they were at this time in 2019,” she said. 

Taste Addison appeals to everyone, including families, young adults and seniors. There’s a little of everything — a marketplace to shop, a wine garden, a testing room and several kids’ activities.

After a year of hard-hitting struggles, the festival is here to bring together the community, especially highlighting its hard-working restaurants.

“As everyone knows restaurants have been hit hard this past year and this is an event that highlights those restaurants,” Lee said. “It lets people come out and experience them and hopefully find a new favorite.”

Taste Addison will run this weekend. Heath and safety protocols.

• Friday, June 4, 6 to 12 a.m.
• Saturday, June 5, 2 p.m. to 12 a.m.

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

Art&Seek is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.