OLDS — A Taste of Olds & Area, a sampling of local food and drink organized by Olds College business was such a success their instructor is hopeful it will be carried on next year.
The event was held April 3 in the Olds College Alumni Centre. It raised about $3,000 for Kirsten’s Place, the emergency shelter in Olds.
“It was a great success,” instructor Jennifer Hainsworth said during an interview with the Albertan.
“We had almost 1,500 people that came through, 22 vendors that were showcasing their food and beverage options. And the feedback that we have received has been overwhelmingly positive.”
Student Brooklyn Demers-Gunn, who served as the overall coordinator for the event, agrees.
“We had some last-minute vendors that came to join us for the event,” she said.
The crowd far exceeded organizers’ expectations.
“We were hoping for 500 people to attend,” Demers-Gunn said.
She admitted that with 1,500 people in there “it was definitely cozy,” but she said there was room for everybody to move around.
“We had a few times where we had to limit some of the number of people coming in to make sure that we were meeting our fire code requirements, but it was very short-lived within those,” Hainsworth said.
“And with people coming and going, because of the nature of the event, we were able to compete with that and allow for there to be space for people to move.”
Hainsworth said she is very impressed with how the class dealt with the project.
“I'm incredibly proud of the work that they did for this project, the level of professionalism that they showed, and their ability to step up to the challenge,” she said.
“When we decided on this project as a class, I did put it out there that this was going to be a lot of work, and everyone was on board.
“I was, like I said, incredibly proud of the work that they did. They didn't shy away at any of the tasks or the steps that came forward, or any of the hurdles or challenges.
“The night of the event, their hard work absolutely paid off. And all of the feedback that we received was so wonderful. I hope they are as proud of themselves as I am with them.”
Hainsworth said the event was such a success that she’ll be suggesting that it be held again.
“I think it'd be a wonderful tradition to do, and I would love to see that come around full circle and happen again, but I have a feeling we're going to end up seeing it again in some capacity,” she said.
The event itself wasn’t the end of the assignment. A report including segments from all the subcommittees involved still had to be written and turned in by April 17.
“It was such a wonderful opportunity for myself and my experience and it's something I'll take with me for the rest of my life,” Demers-Gunn said.
