Organizers could bring back Taste of Minnesota festival

Taste of Minnesota
In 2010, the Taste of Minnesota festival featured over 100 hours of live music and more than 50 food vendors and restaurants. A group has applied to revive the event after the festival was forced into bankruptcy three years ago.
MPR File Photo

The Taste of Minnesota festival may return to St. Paul this summer, three years after it was forced into bankruptcy.

A group led by Linda Maddox, widow of Taste of Minnesota founder Ron Maddox, has applied to hold the event on the State Capitol grounds in July. The application is stamped "tentative." Organizers say they are still trying to secure financing, but reserved the space as a first step.

Taste of Minnesota had an almost 30-year run in St. Paul before it was forced into bankruptcy in 2010. It had more than $1.6 million in debt.

The festival featured food and live music, and was held on the state Capitol grounds until 2003 when it moved to Harriet Island. In 2009, International Event Management, led by Andy Faris, took over the festival and began charging admission. Attendance plummeted. Organizers say neither Faris, nor his defunct company, is involved in the effort to resurrect Taste of Minnesota.

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