Daybreak Rotary Club's Taste of the Valley hosted 28 vendors on Thursday at Lakefront Park, where the added stands, booths and trucks from the previous year coincided with an added demand for ticket sales, the proceeds of which fund grants that support local organizations. Tricia Christiansen of Daybreak Rotary Club reported the event sold 669 tickets this year. Last year's event featured 23 vendors and 527 tickets sold.
For a $50 fee, attendees could sample various offerings from establishments across the St. Croix Valley near the park's bandshell.
"Our goal is to support the food community," said Pam Klingfus, a Daybreak Rotary member and the Chief Executive Officer of Hudson/Osceola for CCH. "We know that covid was hard for them, and this gives them a chance to share a little bit, maybe about something creative they're doing or something fun they want to share. They all choose a different item that they want to share, [and] it gives them exposure and advertising to get people to come into their businesses, too."
Inspired by a similar rotary club fundraiser in Lakeville, Minn. — dubbed "Taste of Lakeville," which hosts its 23rd annual event August 14 — Daybreak Rotary Club in Hudson decided to organize the event after Tom Van Pelt, part of Lakeville's rotary club before joining Daybreak Rotary, brought the idea to Hudson after moving to the city.
"It took a few years for us to get it going, but we've got such a great food scene here in Hudson, that it just seemed like a perfect fit," he said while helping out with distribution at Black Rooster Bistro's stand on Thursday night. Daybreak Rotary offered volunteer help to the vendors at Taste of the Valley to help offset some of the labor costs for the event.
Taste of the Valley
And whether attendees felt like trying the Chateau St. Croix Winery, South Ridge Ranch Bacon, Keys Cafe & Bakery or any of the other establishments at Lakefront Park, they had a bevy of options to choose from.
"It brings all the restaurants to one location where the community can check us all out," said Amy Salama of Post American Eatery. "So I think it's a great marketing venue for everyone."
Among other initiatives, Daybreak Rotary Club's grant program has helped fund Healthier Together in the latter's effort to provide access to parks and St. Croix RiverFest, an event in Hudson that aims to preserve culture, history and nature through a forager walk, invasive fish talk, a cooking class and other activities.
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