Morgan Hill – Downtown Morgan Hill is gearing up for its annual blowout bash of food, music and eye-popping cars.
The 18th annual Taste of Morgan Hill, scheduled for Sept. 29-30, will once again offer the public a chance for an eclectic sampling of what the city has to offer — from dishes served up by local restaurants to elaborate quilts made by local artisans, and of course a slew of custom and classic cars.
“The (event) provides a wonderful opportunity for downtown businesses to shine,” said Dan Ehrler, director of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, the event sponsor. “Although this is a very much locally supported event – it’s really a family atmosphere – we have thousands of people that come from outside Morgan Hill, either for the first time or because they keep coming back.”
The Custom and Classic Car Show will once again take center stage both days with a roster of up to 165 cars lining Monterey Road, between Fourth Street and East Dunne Avenue.
That’s a sellout crowd for the first day, said car show organizer Lou Mirviss, adding that she already has half of the spaces filled for the second day.
“The car show people are just a fabulous group of people,” said Mirviss who has helped organize the event for 14 years. “They’re generally just about as old as the car, and we have fun with that – we’re in our ’60s, ’70s. I grew up in those cars and drove to them in high school.”
While the car show is the longest-running attraction at the Taste of Morgan Hill, organizers say the event offers plenty when it comes to art and cuisine. For the fourth year in a row, the Harvest Quilt Show will give visitors a chance to view nearly 250 quilts, including samples of work by youth artists. The free exhibition will be on display at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center.
And when it comes to food, organizers are also continuing efforts to focus on local caterers and restaurants. This year, about half a dozen wineries and 17 businesses will set up booths along Monterey Road, according to Rosy Bergin, owner of downtown bar and restaurant Rosy’s at the Beach. The restaurant is mixing things up this year by switching its main offering from salmon tacos to a Beach House Burger Bar, which will also serve up a Baja Seafood cocktail.
Bergin said she likes the fact that the focus of the event has returned to local restaurants, after years of hiring vendors who travel from festival to festival.
“It was an event started by the downtown merchants years ago to really show off the downtown,” she said. “That’s why we’re trying to get back to making it a true reflection of what Morgan Hill is offering.”
Organizers this year have tried to simplify life for roughly 40,000 to 50,000 visitors by also allowing the use of a single ticket for food and wine, instead of two tickets as in year’s past.
The free festival, which draws 40,000 to 50,000 people to the heart of Morgan Hill each year, helps raise money for the operations and programs of the chamber of commerce. Proceeds typically average about $40,000 a year.
