Chow Chow board postpones culinary festival to September 2021

CHOW DOWN: Guests sample food and beverages in the Pickled in the Park tasting tent at Chow Chow 2019. The festival is now slated to return in September 2021. Photo courtesy of Chow Chow

On the last evening of the inaugural Chow Chow culinary festival last September, participants gathered at Salvage Station to celebrate the weekend’s inarguable success. Graced with beautiful weather in Pack Square Park, 3,387 local and out-of-town guests took part in the event, visiting the dozens of tasting stations from local and national chefs; sampling from breweries, distilleries and wine bars; and participating in seminars, workshops, cooking demonstrations, and farm and manufacturer visits spotlighting the makers and producers of the region.

“The closing party was pure enjoyment for all of us who worked on it,” chef Katie Button, Chow Chow board of directors president, said the morning after.

The festival generated $135,952 in state and local taxes, $1,210,749 in direct spending and ultimately raised $53,000 for MANNA FoodBank. Planning for Chow Chow 2020 started almost immediately; in November the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority approved a $100,000 contribution to the event (up from $75,000 in 2019) and, in January, the board of directors hired Rebecca Lynch as executive director and Shay Brown as festival director.

But in the wake of COVID-19, with restaurants closed and no timeline yet in place for reopening, with makers and farmers struggling to adapt to market uncertainty and with an unknown potential for future restrictions and regulations regarding social gatherings, the Chow Chow board of directors came to the same conclusion as countless other festivals: Cancel and postpone until 2021.

“It was an extremely tough decision,” Button said in an April 30 press release. “We’re determined to be back better than ever next year, and we think Chow Chow will be a great way to celebrate our reopened doors.”

Chow Chow executive committee member Elizabeth Sims says the programming committee is kicking around ideas for the interim. “We’re discussing a series of dinners and creating an online Chow Chow channel with interviews and demos with chefs, farmer and makers to continue the conversation about our mission,” she says.

For updates, check social media and avl.mx/6gm.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Kay West
Kay West began her writing career in NYC, then was a freelance journalist in Nashville for more than 30 years, including contributing writer for the Nashville Scene, Nashville correspondent for People magazine, author of five books and mother of two happily launched grown-up kids. In 2019 she moved to Asheville and continued writing (minus Red Carpet coverage) with a focus on food, farming and hospitality. She is a die-hard NY Yankees fan.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.