Residents of Medford and the surrounding areas came out to historic Kirby’s Mill Sept. 8 for A Taste of Medford.
Guests purchased a wristband at the entrance and were able to indulge in local chefs’ menu items.
“This is our eighth year of running a Taste of Medford. In previous years, we had it at Freedom Park. It’s now being held at Kirby’s Mill. It’s an opportunity for the restaurants in the Medford area to showcase their foods and offerings and also present an opportunity for local businesses to provide information and products they have available,” said Theresa Freedman, president of the Medford Business Association.
Food variety ranged from sushi to pizza, wings and vegan crab cakes. Femmina Italian Grill, Reily’s Candy, Makiman Sushi, Zinc Café, PJ Whelihan’s, Toto Fresco Italiano and Buffalo King were a few of the restaurants providing food for guests and answering questions about their menus.
The event also featured a business expo featuring old and new local businesses in the Medford area.
“The business expo is a chance for local businesses to display their products, maybe sell their products and services,” said Dave Vaughn, executive director of the Medford Business Association. “We have a new restaurant opening in town called Top Notch. They’re in the business expo portion introducing themselves in town.”
Zallie’s ShopRite sponsored the event in addition to providing food to taste.
“The presenting sponsor is Zallie’s Shop Rite of Medford, and has been for several years now. They’re terrific. They work with us and provide everything they can and all the help they can give to make our events go. They’re a tremendous organization,” Vaughn said. “Without ShopRite it wouldn’t be happening.”
Kids were kept busy able to enjoy the event with their parents through various activities set up, including pony rides, a small tennis court, bubbles and a large blow-up slide.
“We always have a number of the schools, like KinderCare and Malvern, which are hosting a lot of our kids’ activities, and our local sponsors are always helpful allowing us to have the pony rides and the jazz band,” said Freedman.
The event isn’t just a draw for locals, residents in the surrounding areas come out to support Medford vendors and get a taste of what restaurants have to offer.
“We get a lot of people from surrounding communities, about 70/30,” said Vaughn.
“The surrounding businesses are businesses that typically serve the Medford-area residents but their business may not necessarily be located right in the town,” said Freedman.
This year, the MBA decided to change the venue of A Taste of Medford to add the ability to share local history to the guests in attendance.
“We try to bring new things. We brought it to Kirby’s Mill this year to change the venue and try to change it up a bit. The mill was opened for people to walk through, and it made it a little more exciting,” said Vaughn. “We’ll probably grow it here at Kirby’s Mill for a couple of years and keep it or move it someplace else.”
The event is planned for about three or four months, according to Freedman, however it’s a year-round responsibility.
“All year round it’s an ongoing process. Once one event finishes, you’re working on the next event and, of course, membership in the beginning of the year, so it’s non-stop all year round,” said Freedman.
The Medford-Vincentown Rotary was involved as well, according to Freedman. Despite the lack of a table or a booth the members were present.
“The event itself isn’t just run by the MBA. The local Rotary members helped with parking and set up so some of the local organizations helped as well,” said Freedman.
The next event for the MBA will be Oktoberfest at Ironstone Village Saturday, Oct. 6 from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Guests can expect a beer garden in addition to American and German foods and a live band.
“I think events like this give options for people as something to do and draw people to Medford,” said Freedman.
“It makes them aware of what’s available in Medford so businesses can reap the benefits year round, so there’s business year round,” said Vaughn.
For more information on the Medford Business Association and upcoming Oktoberfest visit www.medfordbusiness.org.
