The annual “Taste of Wheaton” festival returns Sunday with bites from local eateries, a beer and wine garden, live music and dance performances, roller skating and family activities.
Attendees can purchase food from 22 local restaurants serving a variety of cuisines such as Ethiopian, Indian, Italian, Korean, Mexican and Peruvian. Participating restaurants include Dessie Ethiopian Restaurant, Filippo’s Italian Specialties, Himalayan Soul Foods, Jongro Korean BBQ and Taqueria Sabor Mixteco.
“Wheaton is known for its very diverse ethnic restaurants. That’s one of our biggest draws,” Sidney Cooper, marketing and events manager for the Wheaton Urban District, told Bethesda Today on Tuesday. “That’s important because it represents what Wheaton is.”
The free outdoor event will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Marian Fryer Town Plaza at 2424 Reedie Drive, directly above the Wheaton Metro station, and will take place rain or shine, according to the city’s website.
The festival, which typically attracts around 10,000 people and has been held dozens of times, will also have a dedicated beer and wine garden with selections from Gaithersburg-based Saints Row Brewing.
“When you think taste, it’s about the food. But we say, get a taste for all that Wheaton has to offer,” Cooper said. “We are also an arts and entertainment district, and so we obviously want to support our local artists, our local musicians, and you’ll see a lot of that with what we’ll do at the event as well.”
There will be numerous performances throughout the day from artists showcasing go-go, Latin, soul and urban contemporary music, along with dancers from the Wheaton Studio of Dance, the Soka Tribe (an Afro-Caribbean dance collective) and the Albert Einstein High School Latin Dance Team.
Additionally, Montgomery Planning, in partnership with the Wheaton Urban District, will have a pop-up roller rink with free skate rentals. This is part of the department’s Wheaton Placemaking Initiative, which shows “how underutilized public space in an urban center can be transformed to be functional, exciting, and recreational,” according to its website.
Patrons can also shop for wares from local artisans and business vendors and participate in children’s activities, such as crafts and face painting.
There will be free parking nearby at the Wheaton Metro Parking Garage and Montgomery County Garage 45 at 11304 Amherst Ave., and the event is also readily accessible via bus and Metro.
“Taste of Wheaton is a celebration of everything that makes this County special — our diversity, our food, our music and our people,” Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said in a release. “This is a great chance for families, friends, and neighbors to support local restaurants and artists while enjoying everything Wheaton has to offer.”
Freelancer Courtney Cohn is a former Bethesda Today reporter.
