City of Keene Prepares for Third Annual “Taste

of Keene” Food Festival

The “Taste of Keene” food festival looks to serve up some of the best bites around!

By Jack Dey

Keene City Council has voted to bring back the “Taste of Keene” food festival for the third year

in a row.

In a move that delighted food lovers and vendors alike, the organizers of last year's Keene City

food festival closed down Central Square and Main Street leading to Railroad Square. This

allowed for a total of 24 food vendors and 13 beer and alcohol vendors to set up shop.
The Keene Young Professionals Network (KYPN) has successfully organized the “Taste of

Keene” food festival for three consecutive years, earning the council's trust to maintain the same

approach this year. With a spotless track record devoid of any untoward incidents, the council is

in no mood to alter the tried-and-tested formula, and the KYPN couldn’t be happier to be a part

of it.

“We estimated about 3,000-4,000 folks attended last year, and only expect this number to grow.

Said President of KYPN Alana Fiero. “It has absolutely exceeded our expectations and we are so

excited for year three.”

Based on the success of the previous year’s event, this year's festival promises to offer a similar

feast of culinary delights, anticipating large crowds of food enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike.

This year's event will see a couple of changes, namely the absence of the chef demos, and the

relocation of the live music to the central square.

“This will create more space in the beer garden area without actually adding any square footage

just to let us have a little more elbow room in that area,” said Michael Remy, current events chair

on the board of KYPN

According to Keene City Councilor Michael Giacomo, a former president of the Keene YPN, the

inaugural Taste of Keene food festival in 2021 was a catalyst for its ongoing success. This highly

anticipated event has become more than just a culinary experience for the community. Giacomo
delved into how this food festival serves as a source of financial support for local businesses in

the area.

“Over three-fourths of the restaurants sold out food,” said Councilor Giacomo. “We raised over

$40,000 dollars that all went back to those restaurants and breweries, and we learned a lot of

great lessons we could parlay into future events,”

The “Taste of Keene” City food festival is set to return for its third consecutive year on Saturday,

June 3rd. The rain date for the food festival is set for the following Sunday.
Source Information:

Alana Fiero, President KYPN, keeneypn@gmail.com 603-354- 7000

Michael Remy, Keene City Council- mremy@keenenh.gov, 603-324-0926

Michael Giacomo, Keene City Council- mgiacomo@keenenh.gov, 603-324-8197

Documentary Sources
Taste of Keene organizers eye June return for food festival | Local News | sentinelsource.com

(156) City Council Meeting LIVE - 03/16/23 - YouTube