Taste of Downtown draws a crowd in Carson City

Saturday’s Taste of Downtown was Carson City resident Carol Toohey’s 24th year volunteering with the long-standing Advocates fundraiser.

Toohey has been a staple of the event and each year she can be seen in her homemade Taste of Downtown dresses. She has worked as a greeter at the vendor booths for the past two decades, welcoming guests and connecting with businesses across the city.

“I love to work them, it’s like the fun side of this business,” Toohey said. “It kind of breaks the tension about domestic violence.

“I get to see people every year and it’s a good time and lots of fun when you get to support advocates.”

Toohey has been a part of the Taste of Downtown since the first event, which featured only seven vendors. She has seen the event grow to more than 40 vendors stretched out across downtown Carson City.

“I just love advocates, it’s the single most important cause I like to work for,” Toohey said. “It has gotten bigger; we used to have just downtown restaurants and now a lot of people are coming into it.”

She also credits the popularity of the event to the growing popularity of downtown.

“We really put downtown on the map,” Toohey said. “I had so many people tell me they used to not come downtown except for the Taste.”

For Toohey, the event is a great way for the community to come together and the public seems to agree with her.

“Our family loves coming out because we see friends we haven’t seen all year but we can all come together for the Taste,” said Shawn Taylor. “It is an awesome event to support the Advocates to End Domestic Violence and Carson City.”

The Taste is a way for the community to experience the food scene in the city. Spanning across downtown from 5th to Robinson, patrons have a choice of food from Italian to Asian to beers and coffee. And for many citizens, coming out to support the Advocates to End Domestic Violence is the best part.

“We love it, we come every year because we love supporting an organization that supports women of domestic violence,” said Betsy and Tim Kosier. “We just love that the community comes together. It’s a small town with a big event.”