BY LINDA BENTLEY | OCTOBER 24, 2012
Taste of Cave Creek continues to grow in popularity
CAVE CREEK – From when it started over a decade ago as a little event on the other side of town, the Taste of Cave Creek, since it moved to Stagecoach Village a few years ago, has grown exponentially each year, with this year’s event drawing double last year’s attendance.
Town Manager Usama Abujbarah estimated there were approximately 5,000 people per day at the two-day event.
Rural/Metro Fire estimates were a little higher at 6,000 to 8,000 per day with more than 3,000 people each day during the peak hours.
New events were added to this year’s event, including the Tim and Willy Chili Cook-off, presented by Sanderson Ford and Sanderson Lincoln.
Red chili was featured on Wednesday and green chili on Thursday, with $1,750 in prize money awarded to each night’s winner.
There was also a music contest sponsored by Chicks with Picks and Solar City with cash and prized awarded each night to the winners.
On Monday, Abujbarah held the raffle drawing for 17 items ranging from golf foursomes at the Boulders and Rancho Mañana to a Fender Guitar from Deep Eddy Vodka to accent furniture pieces from Valerie’s Furniture and Accents.
Mark Peagler liked the large picnic table being raffled off from Troop Fuel so much he employed a strategy of purchasing 60 tickets to ensure winning it. His strategy paid off when one of his tickets was drawn.
Roy Smith threw in a few tickets to win one of the three party grills being raffled off from Southwest Gas and ended up winning two of them.
As planners, participants and attendees enjoyed the success of this year’s event, planning is already underway for Taste of Cave Creek 2013, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 16 and 17.
