‘Taste’ was great, but lines were lengthy

By Curtis Riggs | October 1, 2008

Stagecoach Village star of the evening
CAVE CREEK – Despite the huge crowd and long lines for food last week’s Taste of Cave Creek is being called a tremendous success. The $26,000 raised will allow the Cave Creek Merchants Chamber to increase their efforts in support of Cave Creek businesses.

There were huge lines for food from the 16 Cave Creek restaurants serving at the event primarily because the crowd was expected to be three times smaller. In the first few hours of the Sept. 25 community celebration there was a sea of people milling about in the courtyards of the spacious Stage coach Village. Greatly contributing to the huge crowd were approximately 400 economic-development officials from throughout the state who were in Carefree for the Governor’s Rural Economic Development Conference.

TasteApproximately 3,600 people attended the Taste.

Marc Peagler, President of the Cave Creek Merchant’s Chamber of Commerce, which co-sponsored the fundraiser along with the Town of Cave Creek, called the long food lines and many restaurants running out of food “technical glitches” which were in effect caused by the event’s success.

“The event went exceptionally well given that we were only planning for 1,500 people,” he said.

Mayor Vincent Francia called the Taste “an opportunity for Cave Creek to show its festive side.”

The huge crowd was thrilled by the music of two popular Cave Creek bands, EastonAshe and Rondavous, who saw their performances as a way of giving back to the community.
The true star of the evening, however, could have been the Stagecoach Village venue itself. Many remarked about the beauty of the retail center.

Peagler said the Taste will return to its roots next year with silent and live auctions, great food and music.

Photo caption: People had to work to sample the finest food Cave Creek eateries had to offer last week because the crowd for the event was larger than expected.
Photo by Curtis Riggs