Get ready to sip, snack and stroll your way through A Tasteful Affair, as the anticipated foodie event returns this month, spotlighting more than a dozen local businesses within Volusia County.
The Port Orange South Daytona Chamber of Commerce, which strives to enhance quality of life locally “by advocating for business development, building relationships, and supporting economic opportunity,” is hosting the ticketed, three-hour event, which kicks off at 5 p.m. April 30 at Port Orange’s Riverside Pavilion, located at 3431 S. Ridgewood Ave.
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What is A Tasteful Affair?
Guests sample offerings from various local restaurants and caterers at a previous Tasteful Affair event, hosted at Port Orange’s Riverside Pavilion.
“It is a major fundraising event for the chamber,” which covers the Shores, Ponce Inlet, South Daytona and Port Orange, said Michele Jordan, the chamber’s director of member services.
“We reach out to all of the restaurants, caterers and coffee shops within that four-city area and ask them to come be a vendor at the event,” where they have the opportunity to showcase the very best of their menus as samples for as many as 200 guests, she noted.
“… We also have a scholarship program, so we take some money from each of our fundraising projects and put that toward scholarships for high school seniors,” Jordan continued.
Roughly 20 vendors have already secured their spot at the Riverside Pavilion, including familiar names like Aunt Catfish’s, Tiki Docks, Malibu Beach Grill, Treats & Sweets Cakery and Bliss Beach, according to Jordan.
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Treats & Sweets Cakery’s booth, featuring homemade cupakes, at the 2023 Tasteful Affair event in Port Orange.
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During the event, guests are invited to embark on a “tasteful tour” of area eats, spanning from sauced BBQ creations to Italian cuisine, sweets and more.
“We will have a little dessert and coffee section, which is something new,” Jordan said, as well as a wine tasting and likely a whiskey or bourbon tasting during the event.
“Every year we try to do something a little bit different,” she noted. “… But our main purpose here is to just to get some of these names out into the community.”
During A Tasteful Affair, participating vendors will compete for a first place prize, Jordan said, as decided by a vetted panel of judges, myself included. La Diva by Chef Jenn took home the trophy last year, while Boondocks Restaurant claimed victory in both 2023 and 2024.
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2023 – 2024 Tasteful Affair champion, Boondocks, shows off its booth at the annual fundraising event.
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In addition to a beer and wine bar, guests can look forward to live entertainment by musical artist Shannon Rae during the event.
Advance tickets to A Tasteful Affair can be purchased online for $35 per person or $40 at the door.
“The more the merrier … We’re at about 70 now, and people do wait until usually the week of (to purchase tickets), so we’ll probably have at least about 120 people there,” Jordan said. “… So, it’s a nice date night and it’s just a fun time.”
For information, visit pschamber.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: A Tasteful Affair returns with popular Port Orange-area restaurants
Dining and Cooking