“The General Lewis Hotel is sending over pecan pie. The Greenbrier’s baking batches of crusty breads and some neighbors five miles down the road at the Eagle’s Nest in Crow, Va. are shucking clams and oysters. And so it begins”

The excerpt above is from a newspaper article 35 years ago announcing a new Carnegie Hall fundraising event! It could almost be written today. While some of the players and offerings have changed, one thing remains the same. T.O.O.T is always a smashing tasty success in our town and the 35th annual Taste of Our Towns (T.O.O.T.) festival takes place on Saturday, October 12, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in downtown Lewisburg.

This is an annual fundraiser for Carnegie Hall and dozens of area nonprofit organizations. It successfully draws thousands of residents and visitors to the Greenbrier Valley to enjoy a beautiful Fall afternoon full of delicious food and entertainment for the whole family. This year features pumpkin spice cupcakes, deep dish pizzas, London broil steak sandwiches, local ciders, Renaissance Festival entertainers and so much more. It takes place rain or shine and there are always some entertaining sideshows and surprises. Grab your highlighter, here is the list of entertainment and food vendors:

Lafayette Street Stage

• Seldom Free, 11a-12p
• Better than we Sound, 12:15p-1:30p
• Hello June, 1:45p-2:45p
• Church Street Stage
• Renaissance Festival Entertainers, all day

Carnegie Stage

• Lewisburg Elementary 5th Grade Choir presented by Carrie Neese, 11a-11:30a
• Greenbrier Valley Optimistic Ukelele Band presented by Bob DuCharme, 12p-12:45p
• Heartstrings presented by Russell Fallstad, 1:15p-1:45p
• Eastern Greenbrier Middle School Band presented by Brian Carr, 2p-2:30p

Vendors & More

• Amy’s Cakes and Cones: pumpkin spice cupcakes w/ cream cheese icing and chocolate ganache cupcakes
• Blackwell’s: deep dish pizzas
• Corn + Flour: white bean chicken chili w/ a cornbread muffin
• Daniels Vineyards: Local wine tastings/bottles
• Davis Stuart: pepperoni rolls, assorted baked goods and apple cider
• Davis Stuart – Mr. Blake’s homeroom: Italian sausage and pepper subs
• Foley Orthodontics: cake pops
• Food & Friends: lobster rolls, scallop chowder, and pumpkin fudge, and plant-based meatballs
• Grassroot Church: water and soda
• The Greenbrier: TBA

• Greenbrier Community Schools: bottled water and apple cider
• GEHS French Program: chocolate covered pretzels
• GEHS Prostart: apple crisp w/ cinnamon whipped cream and chai apple cider
• Greenbrier Sporting Club: shrimp and grits
• Greenbrier Valley Aquatic Center: kettle corn
• Hamrick’s Concessions & Catering: London broil steak sandwich

• Hawk Knob Appalachian Hard Cider and Mead: local cider and mead tastings
• Lady D’s: Cuban sandwiches, croquetas, pastelitos, fried plantains
• Lux Catering: lobster bisque and French onion soup
• Please Save a Cat: deep fried cheesecake, cake pops, and peaunut butter pie
• Renick Christian Fellowship: homemade donuts, coffee, water
• Shoneys: TBA

• Stuart’s Smokehouse & Seafood: stuffed fried shrimp, smoked brisket sandwiches, pulled pork sandwich, and roasted corn
• Thunderbird Taco: apple jack quesadilla w/ local beef (or w/o) and Mexican coke
• WSS WISH Center: smoothie bike smoothies
• WV Renaissance Festival: Scotch eggs, beer cheese soup in a bread bowl, and whiskey cake

• Greenbrier Humane Society: adopt-a-thon
• WVSOM Sigma Sigma Phi: blood pressure screening, bmi screening, and vision screening
• WVMHOF: traveling museum

Be sure to get your tokens early! They do sell out. See you there! For more information, visit carnegiehallwv.org

– HashtagWV #118. October 2019.