Taste of Minnesota wraps up Minneapolis reboot, drawing tens of thousands downtown
MINNEAPOLIS -- A revamped, two-day food and music festival in downtown Minneapolis wrapped up Monday night.
About 60,000 people braved the heat to attend the first day of Taste of Minnesota, and organizers expected a similar turnout Monday.
After an eight-year hiatus, the event returned to a new location -- three blocks on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis.
Lightning proved to be a show-stopper Monday night. Organizers kept everyone out for a bit and delayed the headlining act until the threat passed.
Easy access to water was a problem on the first day. Three watering stations didn't arrive until late in the day Sunday, but organizers said they were back up and running for Monday. Visitors could also bring their own water bottles to help stay hydrated.
A paramedic at the first aid tent told WCCO News people were "dropping like flies" Sunday when organizers had to bring in more water stations late. The medic said day two was a different story. He hadn't seen any health emergencies.
Organizers said they couldn't have imagined a better turnout.
"Everybody I think was really happy with the attendance [Sunday] and how smooth the event ran," said Taylor Carik, a co-organizer of the Taste of Minnesota. "It's a pretty big event, a big undertaking but everything went really smoothly. Folks got in through our screenings at the secure checkpoints at the north and south location. There were a few lines but people moved quick."
Some vendors saw long lines and also ran out of food, like the owner of the Philly Station, Ahman Laster.
"I ran out, but I had a runner," said Laster. "So, I was only out for like 15 minutes."
Laster said it was great seeing so many people downtown after a tough few years for the city.
"It was crazy," Laster said. "I had to take a picture of it because I had never seen so many people down here like that. It's been three years or something like that."
The Taste of Minnesota follows last weekend's massive crowds with hundreds of thousands of people in town for Pride and Taylor Swift. Carik said the Taste is providing some much-needed momentum for downtown's recovery from the pandemic and unrest.
"Not just for me but for a lot of people, city officials, people who live and work in downtown, people who came to visit downtown, it was really exciting," said Carik. "It was another weekend of fantastic energy in the city. I saw a lot of older people who maybe hadn't been downtown in a while and we saw a lot of young people too rolling down the hills at the green space, which is great to see in downtown, too."
Organizers say a few people needed medical attention. Others checked in just to cool off a bit. Dr. Andie Rowland-Fisher, an emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare, says that's the right thing to do if you're feeling faint, or just too hot.
"On any hot, humid day like this, especially if people have off work and they're outside, and particularly on holidays when they're drinking, we definitely see some heat-related illnesses," Rowland-Fisher said.
There weren't any reported public safety incidents or arrests at the event.
