It might be a little bit smaller than past years, but the Taste of Barrhead makes its return after a one-year absence.
On Friday, Sept. 30, at the Barrhead Public Library people will have the opportunity to sample Dutch-themed appetizers and desserts.
Elaine Dickie, library director, said this year’s event is essentially a scaled-down version of previous events.
Patterned after, the Taste of Edmonton, people purchase tickets that are exchanged for food samples representing multiple different ethnicities.
Barrhead’s version, which started in 2012, featured about 30 different food vendors, showcasing food from close to 10 groups.
“It was really popular and the people just loved being able to sample all the different types of food from all over,” she said, adding that is why the organizers were so disappointed they had to cancel last year’s event due to a scheduling conflict.
Since its inception, the Taste of Barrhead has been held in Barrhead Elementary School’s (BES) gymnasium and for the most part it is a partnership that has worked well. However, it wasn’t without its problems.
Dickie said planning the event was difficult because the Barrhead Composite High School (BCHS) tentatively books BES’s gym every weekend in September for a volleyball tournament, even though they only actually need the facility for one weekend.
This is because BCHS couldn’t finalize the schedule until the start of school, when it could confirm the availability of the other schools.
While Dickie understands the reasoning behind this, she said it did make the planning more difficult and in the case of last year, resulted in the cancellation of the event.
“It is also just a busier time of year. It is harvest time and a lot of activities are starting up,” she said, adding that is why organizers decided to scale down the event and feature one nation’s food — Holland. “We might hold the full-blown version a little later in the year when they have more time, in January. This will be just a teaser.”
Dennis Donkers of Barrhead Bakery is organizing the food venders. In addition to the food, Dickie is hoping to arrange for another vendor to come in and provide samples of Dutch beverages as well.
Dickie also noted that the Taste of Barrhead is just one of the events that will be happening on Sept. 30, for Barrhead’s version of Alberta Culture Days. Hillcrest Lodge will be hosting a tea in the afternoon, and the Barrhead Art Gallery will also be open.
“One of the reasons we decided to have it go on for just one day is that there are so many other events happening around the province for Alberta Culture Days (Sept. 30 to Oct. 2), especially in Edmonton and by doing this we give people an opportunity to go and enjoy some of the other big events that are happening in the province.”
Tickets for the Taste of Barrhead are $5. For each plate or sample there is an additional charge of anywhere from $1 to $3, depending on the dish.
To complete the event organizers have arranged for a music group to play throughout the evening and local artist Anita Sloat will have her works on display.
To help give vendors an idea of how much food to prepare Dickie is asking anyone who is interested in attending the event to buy their tickets, available at the library, by 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 28.
