This year’s Taste of Wayne Food Festival will look a little different. There will be no rows of tables lined up and down Center Street this October, but there will be plenty of food and, hopefully, plenty of smiling faces.

This year’s festival marks the 30th anniversary of the Taste of Wayne. United Way of Wayne County has reimagined their signature fundraiser to allow them to celebrate the event’s 30th birthday while remaining respectful of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This year’s festival will allow for a more individual experience and allow the restaurants a chance to connect with the customers at a deeper level”, said Sherry Archibald, Executive Director of United Way of Wayne County. “We are extremely thankful that the restaurants are willing to participate in this event and champion United Way so we wanted to make sure that restaurants have the opportunity to share more about their restaurant with our festival-goers.”

In year’s past, you would have received a punch card or “passport” that allowed you to sample each restaurant participating in the festival. This year Taste participants will receive a coupon booklet with a coupon for each participating restaurant. Taste Passports will be sold for $15 from September 1-October 10.  The first 200 people to purchase a Passport will receive a United Way t-shirt. More details on participating restaurants and purchasing details will be released soon.