On the last Tuesday of July, nearly a dozen restaurants in downtown Aurora will be filled with friends, neighbors, and families when they enjoy a sampling of menu offerings at the 17th annual Downtown Taste from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 30.
Aurora Downtown runs the event with proceeds to benefit initiatives of the Exchange Club of Aurora. The great tradition was started by a group of Aurora area women continues, as does the event’s spirit of generosity.
The first Downtown Taste took place in 2003 as a fundraiser for Aurora Community Study Circles. Mary Jane Hollis, former executive director of the group, remembers the event as “an important part of our fundraising as well as an attempt to acquaint citizens with the diversity of eateries in downtown Aurora.”
Hollis began the Study Circles program at the YWCA of Aurora in late 1995. In order to secure adequate funding for expansion, a group of community members formed Aurora Community Study Circles two years later.
The group’s mission was to help create a better Aurora community by increasing the participation of all its citizens with their rich diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, age, and economic levels.
Through Circles of Understanding, small groups of individuals would talk and share their feelings about racial and ethnic relations and issues.
Former board members Mary Hauge and Sandy Hipp led the early Downtown Taste events with funds being split between Study Circles and the participating restaurants. Study Circles used their proceeds to support the Circles of Understanding and Many Young Voices programs.
“What a dedicated group of community members who made lots of wonderful things happen from 1995 when the first group of citizens were convened in a pilot dialogue to 2007 when ACSC ceased operation,” Hollis said.
The first year, six restaurants participated in the Taste, Hollis said. They included Aurora Pizza and Pasta, Ciara’s Place, La Roca, Tavern on the Fox, and Tecalitlan. In 2007, the following restaurants participated: Bacci Pizzeria, Cazadores, El Mason de Maria, Fiorell’s, Julio’s Grill, La Quinta de Los Reyes, Lennie’s New York Deli, Tavern on the Fox Irish Pub, Tecalitlan, and Wits End Pub and Grill. In between those years, several other establishments participated, including Just Because, a specialty gift shop, and The Wurst Kitchen/Michael D’s Cookies.
Entertainment was always a part of the Taste, as well as raffle drawings that were held at the end of each event, Hollis added.
In 2008, the Exchange Club of Aurora decided to take on the Taste instead of letting it die along with the Study Circles’ programs. Hollis recalled making a presentation at an Exchange Club meeting offering all the materials that had been used the previous year. That presentation was the outgrowth of a conversation she had with former Exchange Club member Phil De La Fuente of Old Second Bank. The Bank had been a great supporter of Aurora Community Study Circles, as well as the Downtown Taste, Hollis said.
The funds raised from the Downtown Taste events are used to benefit the youth of Aurora with the A.C.E. (Accepting the Challenge of Excellence) scholarships.
Each year, the Exchange Club gives $1,000 education scholarships to deserving East Aurora and West Aurora High School students who have overcome adversity to earn their high school degree. Since 2008, these scholarships have totalled approximately $100,000. April 30 the service club awarded scholarships to nine East Aurora and West Aurora High School students for a total of $9,000.
“The personal stories of each of these students, who demonstrated the courage, tenacity, and positive attitude to overcome adversity, are truly inspiring. The Downtown Taste is our sole funding source for these scholarships,” said board member Bart Troyer.
The Exchange Club is a more-than-100 year old national organization with a primary mission of: “Inspiring communities to become better places to live.” The group accomplishes this mission through activities that benefit youth, prevent child abuse, promote pride in our country, and honor military and public service providers.
Ticket books for the Downtown Taste include five tickets and cost $30. This year, participating restaurants include Endiro Coffee, Tredwell Coffee, Subway, U Samba?, Gillerson’s Grubbery, La Quinta de los Reyes, Taco Grill, Ballydoyle Irish Pub, La France Bakery, and one that’s been part of the Taste from the beginning, Tecalitlan Mexican Restaurant.
Tickets can be purchased in person, cash only, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. July 30 at the welcome table at Santori Public Library, 101 S. River Street, and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Ballydoyle, 28 W. New York Street. In advance of the event, tickets can be purchased at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center gift shop, 20 E. Downer Place, from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com/e/downtown-taste-2019-tickets-60594150736.
Marissa Amoni is the manager of Aurora Downtown, a nonprofit group of business and property owners within Special Service Area (SSA) #One that is dedicated to making downtown Aurora a premier destination for arts, culture, entertainment, dining, living, and working. Learn more at www.auroradowntown.org.