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Taste of Minnesota announces return
The Taste of Minnesota is coming back in style for 2023.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The second year of the resurgence of the Taste of Minnesota festival will return to downtown Minneapolis this summer.
Taste of Minnesota 2024 will be held July 6 and 7 from 11 am. to 8 p.m., according to an announcement from the Taste of Minnesota Foundation.
The event will again return to Nicollet Mall, but with an expanded footprint that allows for double the number of food vendors – roughly 60 compared to last year's 23, according to organizers.
Several thousand attended the event in 2023, which occurred without any major crime incidents – though patrons complained of long lines for food vendors, and few free water stations. But the 2024 iteration can expect "an expanded footprint" and a "greater number of vendors and attractions."
In 2023, Minneapolis leaders announced the free festival would return to downtown Minneapolis – the first time since it was last held in 2015 in St. Paul.
The event featured musical guests Third Eye Blind on July 2, and Uncle Kracker and Big Boi (from Outkast) on July 3, 2023.
For 2024, the foundation is currently encouraging Minnesota businesses, artists, and food vendors to join its Taste of Minnesota 2024 team.
No musical guests have been announced yet, but chef and TV personality, Andrew Zimmern, will return as the Food Ambassador once again, organizers have said.
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Taste of Minnesota returns
A 7-year hiatus came to an end this weekend as Minnesota brought back a summer staple. The Taste of Minnesota drew big crowds on Sunday, its first day. There were long lines to get into Nicollet Mall, but attendees said the lines moved smoothly and were worth it.
The event began in 1983 as a free festival with both food and fireworks at the State Capitol grounds and Harriet Island during the July 4th weekend, but first ended in 2010 following a change in ownership.
Following the original Taste of Minnesota, founder Ron Maddox’s wife Linda briefly revived the event in 2014 and 2015 in a new location in Waconia, before it officially ended a second time.
During the 2023 legislative session, a "Taste of Minnesota" bill was introduced by Rep. Jerry Newton (DFL-Coon Rapids), and Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlain), and would provide $1.8 million in Fiscal Year 2024 from Minnesota’s general fund for a grant to the Downtown Minneapolis Council for infrastructure and costs of the event. At the time, the money was marked as a one-time appropriation.
Organizers have said they will provide an update on funding for the 2024 event in the coming months.