LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) — The 17th annual Taste of Long Beach brought a large crowd to Harper McCaughan Town Green, where guests sampled food and drinks from local businesses Thursday evening.
The annual event features more than a dozen local restaurants and vendors, giving visitors a chance to experience a variety of offerings from across Long Beach.
Long Beach Chamber of Commerce chair Tanner Montella said the turnout was an exciting opportunity to showcase the city’s small businesses to a wide audience.
“So tonight we have over a thousand people. Possibly two thousand. This is a dream come true. We really are over the moon ecstatic about it. This is huge for us,” Montella said.
Montella suggested that holding Taste of Long Beach at the Town Green for its second year since moving out of the Long Beach Senior Center offered better promotion for the city’s small businesses.
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“Hopefully, new faces in the community mean growth for our businesses down here. We’re in the heart of downtown right now. We hope that people leave here and not only remember this spot we’re in and who all was here, but keep the after-party going. That’s what we really want,” Montella said.
In addition to food, drinks and live music, the event featured a silent auction with more than $20,000 worth of items and experiences up for grabs.
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