The 20th annual Great Taste of the Grove, Coconut Grove’s annual two-day food and music festival, took place over the weekend at Peacock Park with 18 participating area restaurants and food vendors (two more than in 2008) and 12 musical acts performing for a crowd more than 75 percent smaller than expected.
The festival's overall attendance dropped by nearly 22,000 people, down from more than 30,000 last year to just 7,500 over two days. Operations and sponsorship director Heather Bettner attributed the lack of attendance to the freezing rain on Saturday and unseasonably cold temperatures throughout the weekend. The weather also affected the scheduled hours for the event, forcing organizers to close nearly five hours early on Saturday.
Judging for the Best of Taste Awards also had to be postponed until Sunday, when a panel of six local culinary experts including Simone Diament, editor of The South Florida Gourmet newsletter, awarded Panorama Restaurant and Sky Lounge the Best Presentation award and Monty's Raw Bar the Best Taste award.
Two months ahead of the event, organizers at the Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce increased the festival’s media presence and expanded its sponsorship acquisition team to garner more restaurant and sponsor involvement. Media sponsors WSVN TV and Magic 102 promoted the event on-air, and the festival's chefs and musicians appeared on several TV programs in the weeks before the free event. The Chamber also had three people, two more than in past years, working to secure sponsors, the number of which doubled to 22.
Companies contributing to the festival included Ford Motor Company as the presenting sponsor, Bacardi—which returned for its fifth year—Budweiser, Coca-Cola, and The Miami Herald.
