Taste of Cambridge returns to downtown for 16th year

CAMBRIDGE — Taste of Cambridge will return to downtown Cambridge for its 16th year on Saturday, Oct. 12, from noon to 6 p.m.

A fundraiser for Cambridge Main Street, Taste of Cambridge is a community street festival featuring a cook-off competition with participants from local restaurants and catering professionals, live entertainment, the Kids Zone at Cannery Way and various vendors.

This year’s cook-off categories are crab cake, crab soup, Eastern Shore fare — which is any dish containing ingredients that can be caught or grown on the Eastern Shore, and dessert. Contestants include:

Black Water Bakery and Eats — Eastern Shore fare and dessertBlue Ruin — Crab cake and crab soupThe Dive Club — Eastern Shore fareGMK Catering — Eastern Shore fareHyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort, Spa and Marina — Crab cakeJaha Ice — DessertRAR Brewing — Eastern Shore fareVintage 414 — Eastern Shore fare and dessert

Dishes will be judged by a panel of judges that includes Laurie Forster, the Wine Coach; Tami Weber, broadcast journalist with WBOC and Gena Levy, co-owner of Bay Country Bakery. “Best of” awards will be presented for each category. Additionally, ticket holders will be provided with ballots to cast votes for the People’s Choice Award.

“For the 16th year, Cambridge Main Street is excited to bring this event to the streets of Downtown Cambridge, as it provides us with an opportunity to showcase our local businesses, restaurants, galleries and historic landscape to hundreds of attendees,” Cambridge Main Street Executive Director Christina Wingate-Spence said. “Not only is Taste of Cambridge a time-honored tradition for Dorchester County residents, it is an event that people from across the Eastern Shore and beyond look forward to each year.”

“We are proud of our area’s heritage, deeply rooted in the seafood industry and in local agriculture,” Wingate-Spence said, explaining the significance of this year’s cook-off categories. “Which is why this year’s Taste of Cambridge will feature traditional crab dishes and Eastern Shore fare, containing ingredients that can be found in our county’s waterways and farm fields.”

The event will have two stages for live performances. Entertainers include The Soul Crackers, a nine-piece Motown soul band; The Radio Pilots, a classic to modern rock cover band based near Baltimore; Island Fusion with Nancy and Jody, an area steel drum duo; Jayme D, a singer-songwriter who performs acoustic versions of songs spanning from the ‘60s and ‘70s to today’s popular music, as well as her original composition; students from Jessica Hindman’s Eastern Shore Dance Academy and Mike Elzey’s Guitar Studio students.

For the kids, Taste of Cambridge will offer the Kids Zone at Cannery Way, which will have an inflatable obstacle course, professional face painting, cornhole and other games and activities.

This year’s event sponsors include gold sponsor TreeHouse Foods and silver sponsor Shore United Bank.

Tickets are on sale now for $50 in advance and $65 at the event. While the event is free and open to the public, ticket holders will be able to sample all cook-off entry dishes — 11 in total — and will be provided a ballot to cast a vote for People’s Choice. The cook-off tasting portion of the event will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For additional information about Cambridge Main Street or to purchase tickets for the event, visit DowntownCambridge.org or email Office@DowntownCambridge.org.