Chamber rolls out plan for week-long 'Feast' event
Taste of Whitefish
It was no easy decision for the Whitefish Chamber to turn away from an event that’s stood for almost three decades. Especially one that’s always brought a sizable chunk of change to the Chamber’s coffers.
But the writing was on the wall for The Taste of Whitefish — it was time to move on to something fresh that can benefit the local business community in an even more meaningful way.
“[The Taste] has been an amazing success,” said Chamber Executive Director Kevin Gartland. “It’s been a major fundraiser for the Chamber and all the things we do. “But part of the original strategy was to build shoulder season tourism.”
The first week of September was traditionally a dead season in Whitefish when The Taste concept was born 27 years ago. Restaurants and hotels needed that extra boost to make it to ski season.
“These days, that’s not the case,” Gartland said. “The city and CVB have done a great job of promoting the fall season. We don’t have empty seats or empty hotel rooms. The reason [The Taste] was put together in the first place is not there anymore.”
So the Chamber board decided last year to totally revamp the annual food event.
Dubbed “Feast Whitefish,” the new concept spans eight days with the goal of bringing a surge of activity to the community during the spring doldrums.
The week kicks off Saturday, May 14 with an opening night reception on the patio at Grouse Mountain Lodge. The evening will feature eight Montana micro-distilleries for a “Distillers Fest,” while local restaurants will present their best appetizer in a competition for the “Best Taste of the Feast” award.
The week continues May 15-20 with a series of multi-chef collaboration dinners hosted by six Whitefish restaurants, including Café Kandahar, Whitefish Lake Restaurant, Latitude 48 and the Boat Club. Each night, the host restaurant and guest chefs will join forces. Only 50 seats are available for each dinner.
“We want to make it about the guys and ladies who put the food on the table,” Gartland said. “We’ll get them working together to create something they don’t do every night.”
The chefs at Tupelo will work with the Boat Club one night, while the kitchen at Haskill Station will join with Cafe Kandahar for another dinner.
The week concludes with a Food Truck Rendezvous at Depot Park. The Chamber hopes to bring in as many as 15-20 trucks from across the Northwest, along with live music, beer and wine, and a kids zone.
The hope is to build the food truck festival into an event that draws upwards of 2,000 people to the park.
“That’s one of the hot crazes in the foodie world,” Gartland said.
Gartland envisions Feast Whitefish growing into an event with regional reach that spans more than 10 days.
“We want it to be a destination event,” he said. “We’ll see where it takes us. It’s ambitious, but we’re an ambitious community.”
The Food Truck Rendezvous is set for Saturday, May 21 from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Adult admission is $10, and includes $6 in “Food Truck Bucks” that can be used throughout the festival for food and drink. Kids 12 and under are free with a parent.
Tickets for the food truck festival and the dinner series are on sale now at www.feastwhitefish.com. For more information, call the Whitefish Chamber at 862-3501.