The 34th annual Taste of Our Town – TOOT takes place Saturday, October 13, from 11am-3pm. Nearly 10,000 residents and visitors from across the region will gather on the streets of historic downtown Lewisburg. Each year, TOOT brings together signature dishes from local restaurants, civic clubs, and non-profits with live music and entertainment. Delectable food paired with amazing music to benefit Carnegie Hall make for a true Lewisburg experience.

Throughout the day, there will be 3 entertainment stages, a climbing wall, dunking booth, children’s activities, traveling performers, an Adopt-a-thon, guided tours of Carnegie Hall, et cetera. Bands include Long Point String Band, The Long Shots, and Thomas Taylor playing on the Lafayette Street stage; and the West Virginia Renaissance Festival will perform on the Church Street stage. The Lewisburg Elementary fifth grade Choir, Greenbrier Valley Optimistic Ukulele Band, Heartstrings Academy, and Eastern Greenbrier Middle School Band will all perform on Carnegie Hall’s upper terrace, located on Church St. The Appalachian Reverend John Wyatt, will roam the street with his guitar. Wyatt’s music and storytelling celebrates the common bonds of faith and family and what it means to be Appalachian. Keith Taylor will play banjo at the Green Space.

Over 30 tasting locations will fill the downtown streets. There are several new food vendors this year and among them are Snowshoe Mountain Resort and Elmwood Estate, who will be serving burgoo stew by Snowshoe and crabcake sliders with remoulade by Elmwood. You will also come across:

• lobster rolls and seafood chowder by Food & Friends;
• fried green tomato sliders and pulled pork sliders by Shoneys;
• smoked brisket by Stuart’s Smokehouse & Seafood;
• brie and apple on baguettes w/ dijon by the French Goat;
• shrimp and grits by the Greenbrier Sporting Club;
• Philly cheesesteak wraps by Pretty Penny Café;
• Scotch eggs and sausage rolls by the WV Renaissance Festival;
• pork BBQ and Draper’s chicken pot pies by The Greenbrier;
• grilled turkey sliders by Aviagen Turkeys; and so much more. See TASTING MAP below!

You can a take a break from the food with a stop at Hawk Knob’s booth for a taste of hard cider and mead or check-in at Daniel’s Vineyards’ booth for a La Crescent or possibly Marquette wine tasting. For those of us with a sweet tooth, there will be plentiful confections including hand dipped ice cream by Homestead Creamery, deep fried cheesesteak by Please Save a Cat, and decadent donuts by Retro Donuts and more.

During the event, you are encouraged to post pictures. Not only will you help promote the festival, but you can WIN a Carnegie Hall t-shirt! Simply make your posts “public” on fb, insta, and twitter and use #TOOT2018 for all of your pics. The winner will be selected at 2:30pm at the Carnegie Hall booth, and notified by private message.

All food purchases on the day of TOOT require the use of tokens. Tokens cost $1 each and are sold in increments of five. If you wish to buy tokens in advance, they are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office (611 Church St., Lewisburg, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., cash/check/credit cards accepted) and the Greenbrier Visitor’s Center (905 Washington St. W., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., cash only). Tokens are also available at the Carnegie Hall token booths on the day of the event. TOOT tokens do not sell out. Please note that pets are not permitted on festival grounds (with the exception of service animals) due to food safety regulations. They thank you for your cooperation.

Carnegie Hall WV is a nonprofit organization supported by individual contributions, grants, and fundraising efforts such as TOOT and The Carnegie Hall Gala. The Hall is located at 611 Church Street, Lewisburg, WV.  For more information please call 304.645.7917 or visit carnegiehallwv.org.