FOOD ON THE MOVE
Taste of Edmonton to get new digs
The Taste of Edmonton is getting new digs.
Alberta Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason announced Tuesday morning the 2018 edition of the Taste of Edmonton will be moving to the Federal Building plaza north of the Alberta legislature building from Churchill Square.
Heading into its 34th year, the annual food festival was in need of a new location due to the closure of Churchill Square for LRT construction.
But, organizers were initially told the new plaza would not be a possible location because of an “antiquated” policy from the 1970s banning eating, drinking and dancing on the legislature grounds. In April, Mason vowed to make changes to the policy that would let the public “get down when you need to get down.”
Although the policy is still in effect, Mason announced it will be changed before the festival and likely within the next few months as the government is in the process of finalizing new policy structures.
The festival will act like a pilot project to see what works, Mason said, and what needs amendments to host further events on the plaza grounds.
Paul Lucas, general manager of Events Edmonton, said negotiations for the festival’s move to the plaza started three years ago and they are excited to finally have a new home.
“Our goal is to make the plaza a major focal point of the festival that will make Albertans proud,” he said.
The square footage of the plaza is a little larger than that of Churchill Square, Mason said, and will allow for the same amount of restaurant vendors, but possibly a few less food trucks.
The festival will also partially extend along Capital Boulevard.
But there will be some food preparation restrictions in the new home.
Any cooking involving oils and grease will take place on the street and then be moved to the vendor booths on the plaza to avoid large messes, Mason said.
“Ten gallons of grease spills on this, it’s going to permanently stain it,” he said.
But Lucas said most of the vendors prepare most of the food in the restaurants and then transport it to the grounds, so the restriction won’t make much of a difference.
The old policy banning food, dancing and alcohol will be changed, Mason said, to open up the legislature grounds to the public and make it a place people want to go.
“On the grounds, you should be able to have a good time,” he said. “This is where we want people to be and we don’t want them to be bored while they’re here.”