The 21st annual Taste of Morgan Hill art and food festival
started just as Saturday did – a little slow – but by afternoon the
crowds swelled and the sun beat down onto visitors who rushed to
buy snow-cones or wine, or sometimes both.
The 21st annual Taste of Morgan Hill art and food festival started just as Saturday did – a little slow – but by afternoon the crowds swelled and the sun beat down onto visitors who rushed to buy snow-cones or wine, or sometimes both.
“Cheers to 11 a.m.,” one woman said with a beer in hand.
Visitors can tour Sunday’s best – the classic car show – until the end of the Taste at 6 p.m. The winner of Best in Show and other awards are scheduled to be announced at 3 p.m. Sunday.
San Martin resident Russ Carr isn’t too worried about winning a trophy for his 1963 Ford Thunderbird convertible, to him the Taste is all about reminiscing.
“It’s why we bring the car out – to talk. We’ll open the car up and let people sit in it and take a photo. For a lot of people it brings back so many memories, a lot of stories,” Carr said.
A short history lesson was outlined on a stand next to Carr’s Thunderbird: In 1963, it could be bought for a mere $6,741.10 brand-new with an AM radio and seat-belts.
Tim and Betsy Westman paused at Carr’s Thunderbird to admire the Chalfonte blue interior. The couple hails from Muskegon, Mich. and are en route to Palm Springs for the winter. A pit stop in Gilroy on the same weekend as the Taste nearby developed into a wonderful decision, Betsy said.
“I can’t believe how many people are here already,” she said at about 11 a.m. “We thought we would be the first ones,” Tim said.
Carr and his wife invested in “his and hers” 1963 Ford Thunderbird convertibles. Carr served as the tour guide of the diamond blue beauty Sunday; he made sure to mention the car was the “hers” and not his. The first part of the license plate? Her63TB.
Locals who have enjoyed the Fourth of July parade may recognize the Carr’s other car, a white 1963 Lincoln Continental, that cruises downtown every year.
“Surprisingly there are a lot of classic cars. You watch the streets, you will see a lot of them out, weather permitting,” Carr said.
Along with the announcement of the classic car show awards Sunday, former Morgan Hill resident turned Nashville recording artist Shane Dwight and his band will grace the Second Street stage from 2 to 4 p.m. The Third Street stage lineup will feature Dos Guys, Chubby’s Allstars and Vital Sign, with Dos Guys scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
“Sunday is always the stronger day,” Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce vice chair Jeff Burrus said. “It’s a nice family affair, as has always been the case.”
Even though temperatures approached 100 degrees, thousands of visitors danced to live music, chowed down on a variety of local cuisine, and cooled off by sipping on shaved ice and other beverages.
Attendees – many of whom have been to the annual festival more than once before – reported a relaxing day full of entertainment for both adults and children.
Sisters Marisa and Lyzandra Bartolo came to Morgan Hill from Santa Cruz, with their young sons, for the Taste of Morgan Hill. Their first time at the festival, the sisters were impressed, and pleased that the 4-year-old boys had fun.
“The girls came for the food, and the boys came for the cars,” joked Lyzandra, referring to the car show at the south end of the festival on Monterey Road. “It’s a nice weekend to be out somewhere.”
The festival will continue Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and similar sunny, warm weather is expected.
The festival in downtown Morgan Hill features about 160 commercial and arts and crafts booths selling a variety of handmade jewelry, clothing, home decorations and more. Also featured at the festival are two stages of live music, with a full lineup both days.
Stacy Floyd came all the way from Los Angeles to visit local friends Joe Langdon, of Morgan Hill, and Deb Narasaki, of Palo Alto.
By lunch time, Floyd had already done at least some of her share of dancing to the live music, and couldn’t resist a bite of her friend’s tri-tip sandwich even though she’s a vegetarian.
“It was worth it,” Floyd said.
The classic car show was a favorite among the morning crowd Saturday, as visitors inspected the Corvettes, Impalas, Panteras, Camaros and other immaculately cared-for rare cars.
Gene and Wilma Pires came to the Taste of Morgan Hill from San Jose, for the second year in a row. A hot-rod enthusiast himself who is working on building his own vehicle, Gene came for the classic car show, which featured 165 entries today. About the same number of cars are expected tomorrow.
“We like all the festivities, and the good food,” added Wilma Pires.
Three generations of the Parish family relaxed in the shade as they lunched on barbecue, burritos and hot dogs, with the grandchildren’s animal-shaped balloons scattered on the table in front of them.
Morgan Hill residents Bob and Joanne Parish have attended the festival for several years. Saturday, they visited with their son and daughter-in-law, who came from San Jose with their two children.
Alex Parish, 7, said her favorite part of the festival so far was “the puppies,” likely referring to visitors’ pets and animals up for adoption at the Friends of San Martin Animal Shelter’s booth. Nic Parish, 4, said his favorite part was “the rides” in the kids’ area on the north end of the festival.
The children’s father, Michael Parish said he likes the annual festival because it’s a “low-stress” event, especially as compared with the Gilroy Garlic Festival which attracts much larger crowds.
“It’s not packed with people,” Michael Parish said. “And the setting is great.”
Event organizers didn’t have an estimate of the number of attendees to the Taste of Morgan Hill today, but earlier this week said they expected about 50,000 throughout the two-day event.
Part of the Chamber’s goal in hosting the festival is to provide an entertaining family-oriented event, while promoting existing businesses downtown, and Burrus said this year’s festival so far seemed to provide a “good mix” of traffic for downtown restaurants as well as the mobile vendors.
Patrons not only lined up for barbecue tri-tip sandwiches and frozen fruit smoothies, but packed establishments such as Rosy’s at the Beach, M & H Tavern and Ragoots.
Festival vendor Debra Ward, owner of the Moonshine Bay clothing boutique based in Santa Barbara, reported strong sales. She said sales today – mostly for summer-style dresses – were better than her first day at Taste of Morgan Hill last year, her first time at the Taste of Morgan Hill.
“But what I like the most is the people are so friendly,” Ward said.
Longtime friends and Morgan Hill natives Aimee Lonardo and Kim Gladden enjoy the festival partly because it allows them to see people they grew up with that they don’t get to interact with often.
The Taste of Morgan Hill seems to attract a more local crowd than other downtown events such as the Mushroom Mardi Gras and Independence Day festivities, vendors and visitors suggested.
