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06/17/2024 01:02 PMFood and beer lovers rejoice! The International Food and Beer Festival is returning for its third year on Friday, July 12. The free-to-attend event will take place behind Andrews Memorial Town Hall from 5 to 9 p.m.
The event, which has quickly become a big hit among residents in only two years, features food and drinks from different cultures worldwide. This year features 13 food vendors representing Latin, African, Caribbean, Asian, Middle Eastern, and European countries. Beers from around the world will be offered as will Italian wines.
Besides the food and drink, there will be entertainment from different cultures, such as Irish step dancers, Middle Eastern dancers, bagpipes, and a Caribbean steel band.
The event is free to attend, though food and tickets to the beer garden must be purchased. Lynn Hidek, one of the event organizers, said that IDs will be strictly checked.
“It’s just going to be a great, fun time with a lot of good food from around the world,” Hidek said.
Two years ago, the Placemakers and Clinton Chamber of Commerce teamed up to host the inaugural festival and to say the event was a success is an understatement.
“It’s really been so good. It celebrates the diversity of the people that call Clinton home,” Hidek said. Anyone interested in volunteering at the festival can contact Hidek at 860-391-2578.
The idea for the festival was first sparked in 2021 when the Placemakers group began discussing holding an event to highlight Clinton’s diversity.
It’s no secret that, like most of the other shoreline towns, the majority of Clinton residents are white. However, Clinton is more diverse than one might first assume. According to the latest census data, more than 10% of residents were born somewhere other than the United States, and roughly the same number speak a language other than English at home.
Paul Orsini, the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce and one of the representatives of the Placemakers, told the Harbor News in 2022, “It’s not really well known how diverse we are. The idea for the day is to give some visibility to the different cultures found in our town as well as attract an audience of people from all along the shoreline.”