This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Arts & Entertainment

Get Your Taste Buds Ready

It's so close I can almost taste it! Yes, the annual Taste of Douglasville event presented by the Cultural Arts Council and the Downtown Development Authority is almost here.

It’s so close I can almost taste it!   Yes, the annual Taste of Douglasville event presented by the and the Downtown Development Authority is almost here. 

Taste of Douglasville is historic downtown Douglasville’s most popular event having grown to more than 20 participating restaurants, 40 vendors, 200 performers and 9,000 plus participants (that’s you and me) on and up and down Church Street.

What originally started out as an effort to get more folks to visit downtown Douglasville has grown into an annual event that residents anticipate because they know the event has a little something for everyone, it’s an economical way to sample some of the area’s best restaurants, and there are always interesting vendors.

Find out what's happening in Douglasvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

I recently met with Laura Lieberman, the Cultural Arts Center executive director, and was pleased to hear many of the most popular aspects of the Taste of Douglasville would be repeated this year with several new opportunities to explore and experience as well. 

This year’s Co-Chairs for the event are Omar Daniel and Renee Kell with Janice Thompson and Linda Worthan serving as Honorary Co-Chairs.  Thanks to their hard work and the input of hundreds of volunteers the Cultural Arts Center’s largest fundraiser will be presented Saturday, May 14 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Douglasvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Since one of the main aspects of Taste of Douglasville is sampling the fare prepared by local restaurants there will be a kickoff event Friday night, May 13th called Picnic on the Plaza.   The picnic will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at O’Neal Plaza featuring a meal prepared by Atlanta’s Finest Catering including barbecued chicken, loaded baked potatoes with all the toppings, baked beans, Cole slaw and strawberry peach shortcake.  Jazz music will be presented by Raise the Praise and there will be a cash bar. Tickets are $15 ($12 for CAC members) and can be obtained by contacting the Cultural Arts Center at 770-949-2787.  

Saturday’s Taste of Douglasville’s event will include several local restaurants including , Three Dollar Café, , and many more.   Every year the restaurants participate in a friendly competition with prizes awarded towards the end of the day for best presentation, most popular, and best new restaurant.   Each participating restaurant for Taste of Douglasville supports the Cultural Arts Center by donating approximately one-third of their ticket sales back to the center to fund their many programs.

A children’s area will be presented in the alleyway between the Church and Broad Streets including clowns, face painting, balloons and bubbles.  Other children’s events include Quickstart Tennis–a mini tennis court set up on Courthouse Square East where children 10 and under experience tennis with kid-sized equipment sponsored by U.S. Tennis Association.   Children can also experience hands-on arts and crafts sponsored by the and participate in the Empty Bowls Workshop where they can make and donate a bowl to benefit The Food Pantry serving hungry families in our community.  The Project Bowls event was featured this past December.

The Above the Influence booth is something new for tweens this year.  Above the Influence is a national media initiative of the White House’s Office of the National Drug Control Policy.   Douglasville is one of three communities across the United States chosen to participate.  The booth will offer interactive tween focused fun.

Various groups will be performing all throughout the day on two separate stages including school groups such as a dance program by Turner Middle School and singing by church groups like .   Other entertainment includes , Phoenix Squares, Westside Winds Ensemble, a reptile wrangler and many, many other groups.

Arts and Crafts vendors will be offering live plants, garden-themed art, paintings, hair bows, jewelry, table centerpieces, greeting cards, wooden bowls and many, many other items.

Come on out Saturday and get a little taste—a Taste of Douglasville!

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?