Winston-Salem, NC (March 6, 2014) – Food lovers, take note! Plans are underway for what is predicted to be the largest culinary showcase to ever hit the Triad. Hosted by Winston-Salem’s home-based brand Texas Pete®, the multi-day culinary festival is slated for the third full weekend of September, 2014 and will feature select items from the menus of dozens of restaurants in downtown Winston-Salem.
Brian Cole—formerly the creator and executive director of Winston-Salem’s “Music In the Streets” program and the operations manager of Fall For Greenville (Greenville South Carolina’s Main Street event which has exploded into a major destination event)—has signed on as the festival’s project manager and will model the event partially after the Greenville event.
“Winston-Salem has a wealth of culinary talent just begging to be showcased,” notes Cole. “This will be an event focused on full-service restaurants located in the city of Winston-Salem. Restaurants will provide on-street set-ups that showcase their specialties—those dishes that have people swooning over the tastes and coming back for more.”
“We’re unbelievably excited about this event’s potential,” says Glenn Garner, vice president of marketing for TW Garner Food Company, maker of Texas Pete®. “We feel strongly that a Winston-Salem culinary event like the one we’re planning has the potential to receive regional and even national attention.”
The event will be held in Winston-Salem’s art district and activities throughout the day will display the skills of the city’s chefs. Admittance to the Culinary Arts Festival will be free, with catered food and drinks available for purchase. The event will feature live music on multiple stages with nationally recognized talent performing, the likes of which will be announced at a later date.
Always proud of their North Carolina roots, Texas Pete® remains committed to connecting in many ways with Winston-Salem and the Triad. The Texas Pete® Culinary Arts Festival lent another opportunity for the hot sauce makers to do just that. The company is currently considering moving their corporate offices—currently located on the outskirts of town—to downtown Winston-Salem. In 2013, Texas Pete® partnered with acclaimed director Ramin Bahrani to use local talent to film their “Memories” commercial that aired on The Food Network. A second video highlighting the charitable work the family-owned company does with Second Harvest Food Bank was also filmed and aired locally.
“Texas Pete is an international brand that is very proud of our Winston-Salem roots,” says Garner. “We’re always looking for opportunities to interact with and give back to the community that has done so much to support our company.”
The culinary festival is being partially sponsored via a grant from the Millennial Fund. Texas Pete® has committed to three years as the event’s title sponsor. Other sponsorships remain available. Call 336-830-7644 for more information.