Jake Reynolds feeds butterscotch pudding to Makayla Turner at last year’s 25th annual Taste of Clarkston event. CLN file photo.

By Megan Kelley
Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
CLARKSTON — Nothing brings people together quite like food and foodies from all over will be sure to get their fill by enjoying some great eats at the annual Taste of Clarkston event.
Bring your friends and family to Main Street in downtown Clarkston on Sept. 29 from noon to 6 p.m. for music, entertainment, drinks and most of all, food. Whether you’re looking for something savory or sweet, you’ll get the chance to try it all at the 26th annual event.
The free event will feature a number of restaurants not just from the Clarkston area but from all across Oakland County. Guests can purchase “Taste Tickets” to spend at different vendor booths for samples of different menu items.
“The whole idea of Taste of Clarkston is just to give people a sample of what these restaurants offer on their menus, so little taste of them,” said Kate Masters, Marketing and Membership Manager for the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce.
The event takes place within the social district boundaries in the downtown so visitors can purchase drinks from restaurants and roam freely within the social district while trying out all different kinds of foods. There will also be two beer tents.
“For those folks that want to patron the four businesses in downtown that do have the liquor license for the social district, they could get Bloody Mary and walk around and experience everything,” said Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kendal Petzold. “And then the Rotary Club in town will have a beer and wine tent by the Kinetic bike shop, and the Optimist Club will have an Oktoberfest beer tent. It’ll be on Main Street and they will have beer from Hilltop Brewery.”
There will be more than just food and drinks though, there will be live music, a stilt walker, caricature artists that give out free caricature drawings and the Corvette Club will be there displaying a number of their cars.
“I know I’m really looking forward to all of our local musicians coming back. One Ton Trolley is our headliner for the event, so they’ll be playing from 4 to 6 p.m., which is kind of like our grand finale of the event. So, for anyone who hasn’t seen One Ton Trolley, they’re incredible. They’re a local band, all of our musicians are from the area as well, so just being able to highlight them is cool,” Petzold said. “And I’m pretty excited just to see how the Optimist Club creates Oktoberfest in Clarkston.”
The annual event is a combined effort between the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce, Independence Township, Parks, Recreation and Seniors, and the City of the Village of Clarkston and has continued to grow over the years.
“Being able to work with the township and the city is wonderful. We have so many co-hosted events throughout the year, but each year we just want to make sure that we’re growing the event, still appealing to anything new, adding new elements to the event and evolving it that way,” said Petzold. “Between all of our businesses and the restaurants, we pull almost everyone together, and it’s always nice seeing families that come back every year.”
Because Main Street between Waldon Road and Washington Street will be closed, and because parking in the downtown is limited, free shuttle services will be traveling back and forth between the event and Clarkston High School, Clarkston Junior High and Renaissance High School.
Taste tickets can be purchased the day of the event and are 10 for $10.
The event takes a lot of manpower to put on so the chamber is always looking for volunteers. To sign up to volunteer, or if you have more questions about the event, you can follow the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce on Facebook or visit their website at clarkston.org.