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Once called “The Taste of Tri-Cities,� the multi-day event draws food vendors from across the Tri-Cities region to set up as part of Fun Fest.

Vendors participate in the Taste of Fun Fest competition, where a panel of local judges sample food from the vendors and vote on their favorites in the following categories: Best Main Dish, Best Dessert, Most Unique Ingredient of Flavor, Best Snack Food, Best Handheld Entrée and Best Overall.

Detra Cleven, the President of Northeast Tennessee for Bank of Tennessee, shared about the bank’s longstanding history as a sponsor of the event.

“We are excited to be a part of it,� Cleven said. “As a community bank, Fun Fest represents the community. It is a chance to give back.�

She said Bank of Tennessee originally set up a temporary bank for Taste vendors to get change from in the days before credit cards. Local restaurants used to be the primary vendors before the rise in popularity of food trucks.

Business impact

Last week, Wednesday through Saturday, 18 local businesses participated in this year’s “The Taste� — one of Fun Fest’s longest running events.

Daniel Taylor, co-owner of The French Quarter, explained how Fun Fest is a huge part of their business. This year marked the truck’s sixth year as participants and second year earning “Best Overall.�

“It is by far the best festival we do,� Taylor said. “Having grown up in Kingsport and attended Fun Fest since I was a kid, it’s amazing to see it continue to thrive and to be a part of it as an adult, and share it more with my children.�

Shannon Vaughn, owner of Bare Bones ºÚÁÏÊÓƵ, said her restaurant has been a part of The Taste for several years now. She said being a Kingsport-based restaurant with a strong support system helps make servicing the community during Fun Fest possible.

“I won’t lie, it is a very demanding week with lots of work to go around and very little sleep,� said Vaughn. “However, we do have a few advantages in that we are local so we have a support system already in place locally. We have several years of experience and data to fall back on during the planning and execution of the event, and I have surrounded myself and filled my tent with some of the best people you could ever hope to work with.�

Vaughn said she uses prior experience to determine how much food to prepare, which also included providing several meals for the hot air balloon teams this year.

“We do have our moments of drama or panic just like everyone else probably did as well, but one thing we have absolutely learned is that you have to be ready to pivot and solve problems when they arise,� Vaughn said. “Based on the historical data we keep, we can make an educated guess as to how much we need to have on hand and to prepare.�

Newest additions

Micah Nida, chef and owner of The Cluck Truck, said this year was the truck’s first time participating in the event. He said the truck was able to “crush� their previous Tri-Cities sales records every day of the event.

“This was a great first festival for us, and it helped us spread our name even further to the Tri-Cities,� Nida said. “This was one of our largest, and simultaneously most successful events to date. We couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity.�

Another new food truck for The Taste, Maybe Today Food Truck, made its debut this year. Owner and operator Andrew Fisher described the experience as “rewarding� in more ways than one.

“As a small family-run business, things like ‘The Taste’ are obviously great opportunities for exposure and sales, but, more importantly, allow us to connect with and provide a service for our amazing community here in East Tennessee,“ Fisher said.

Mikah Eslinger, one of the owners of the Smashed Tri-Cities Food Truck, said his truck served around 2,200 over the course of four days.

“We’re grateful for everyone who stopped by and ate with us and for the exposure generated by this event,� Eslinger said. “We look forward to hopefully doing it again next year.�