The parking lots were full and throngs of people were coming and
going throughout Saturday and Sunday during the 16th Taste of
Morgan Hill. The mood was festive and from the smiles and jovial
conversations that could be heard along Monterey Road, the event
was a success.
“We’ve been back here twice today,” reported Kirk Ishida, who
was having a meal with his wife Gina and their children Kelly, 6,
and Kevin, 5. The family lives in Morgan Hill.
The parking lots were full and throngs of people were coming and going throughout Saturday and Sunday during the 16th Taste of Morgan Hill. The mood was festive and from the smiles and jovial conversations that could be heard along Monterey Road, the event was a success.
“We’ve been back here twice today,” reported Kirk Ishida, who was having a meal with his wife Gina and their children Kelly, 6, and Kevin, 5. The family lives in Morgan Hill.
The Ishidas said they came downtown to the Taste of Morgan Hill mainly for the kids.
“The kids have a lot of fun with the rides. It’s a real good event,” said Gina.
“The food is especially good,” said Kirk.
The Ishidas echoed many comments of visitors at the event. Some were residents, like Betty Kerr, who come every year. Others, like Elizabeth Hernandez-Jones, and husband Robert, came to the event for the first time.
“We are having a great time!” exclaimed the couple, who recently moved to Morgan Hill from San Jose. “We especially love the food. It’s delicious!”
With the Joneses was Mark Garcia, who piped in and said, “The local beer is just great. The beer is great!”
Local restaurants were happy people were tasting their food, one of the main objectives of the Taste of Morgan Hill. This year featured only local restaurants and 24 of them served meals and beverages during the two-day affair.
“We’ve been very busy all day long,” Irene Lai of the Flying Dragon stated, as she hurriedly prepared a dish of orange chicken to go. “Many people have been ordering all day.”
This was the first time the Trail Dust participated in the annual event, and owner Franz Ingram said Sunday he couldn’t be happier.
“We are doing a lot better staff-wise today than yesterday. Yesterday was a learning curve for us and now that we figured out what we’re doing, we are doing great today,” said Ingram.
Ingram estimated the booth had cooked about 3,000 pounds of tri-tip during the two days.
By Saturday afternoon, Rosy’s at the beach had run out of turkey legs. The turkey legs were back again on Sunday, along with salmon tacos, another favorite of the crowd. Owner Rosy Bergin said her food was being well-received by customers. She said she had prepared about 600 turkey legs for the weekend.
The beer and wine flowed all two days and sales were successful, volunteers reported. Corrine Sotelo and Becky Ryalls said there had been a constant flow of traffic through the beer and wine ticket booth. They ran out of souvenir Taste beer glasses early Sunday afternoon.
Cherri Marshall, a Chamber volunteer at the El Toro Brewery booth observed lighter traffic on Sunday, but said, “On Saturday, it was non-stop. It’s been great and a lot of fun. I think sales have at least doubled from last year.”
Outside vendors found the experience profitable also. Hong Ji, who came from Stockton to sell western weather vanes and furniture, was a first-time vendor at the Taste. He said sales were good on Saturday and he’ll consider returning next year.
Two main attractions aside from the food at the Taste of Morgan Hill were the annual Classic Car Show and the annual Harvest Quilt and Garden Show.
Lou Mirviss, chairperson of the car show, which started out with three cars 16 years ago, commented on how much the show had grown in popularity.
“This is considered one of the finest family shows in California. It’s very high-rated,” said Mirviss.
The show featured 140 cars on Saturday, 114 on Sunday, along with cars from Courtesy Chevrolet. “Saturday’s show was sold out six weeks ago and every car was parked on Monterey. It’s the greatest show on earth,” exclaimed Mirviss.
Kathy Sullivan of the South Valley Quilt Association, which sponsored the quilt show, said there were people coming and going at the Community and Cultural Center, where the quilts were displayed.
“It’s been going great,” Sullivan said Sunday. “We’ve had glowing reviews. The vendors have reported more traffic than last year. The Morgan Hill quilt show is recognized as a quality show. People have come from as far as San Francisco, Monterey and the East Bay Area, one group chartered a van. The show is an opportunity for us to showcase this piece of art and this way too, people come to our event, they go to the Taste of Morgan Hill, and eat food from the local restaurants. Everyone benefits.”
“All in all, things went very well,” Dan Ehrler, executive director of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, summarized the weekend event. He said the Chamber had no exact way to estimate the crowd, but pegged it at about 40,000.
Ehrler said in the following weeks the Chamber will meet with groups that participated in the Taste and get their feedback. He hopes to be able to have a wrap-up report of the event by Oct. 26.
“It was interesting this year,” Ehrler said. “It was a new beginning for us with a new format with three food courts and local restaurants participating. There are things we could improve upon and we will discuss these when we meet with all the groups. Volume-wise, I think the mood was very positive.”
Ehler wasn’t alone in his praise for the annual event. The Lloyd family of Morgan Hill was all smiles. Mark and Carole Lloyd brought their children Brittanie, 14, and Joshua, 10.
“We come every year for the fun, the food, the people, the booths, and don’t forget the beer,” Mark said. “I enjoy looking at the antique cars too.”
“It’s fun to come here and see a lot of different people,” Brittanie added.
