After being delayed a week due to weather, the Taste of Sedona Village still brought a couple hundred people to taste beers and wines, ice cream and food from local restaurants.

“Even though it was sunny, it would have been so muddy,” Rotary of Sedona Village Director Jennette Bill said about the original date for the event. “They had to turn the water off several days in advance.”

Despite the change of plans, nearly all — about a dozen businesses — booths of local restaurants and shops were able to adjust and set up on Sunday, Oct. 19, around the green near The Collective in the Village of Oak Creek.

The booths included Clarks Market, Docs BBQ, Rocky Road Ice Cream, Miley’s Cafe, PJ’s Pub and Lumberyard Brewery from Flagstaff, among others.

Two local businesses were going to be in this event,” Bill said, “but they were so busy last weekend, they said, ‘we have to not do it.’ But they became sponsors. So we thank them.”

In a Monday, Oct. 20, press release, the Rotary announced it hopes to make the event an annual tradition.

The event went from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. although volunteers and Rotarians got there much earlier to help set up.

“We’ve been here since 8 [a.m.],” Joshua Sanchez, who’s the grandson of club President Carol Hess. “To help set up.”

Eric Miller, a former Sedona-based Spanish flamenco guitarist who now lives in Phoenix, performed classical guitar until about 2 p.m., which is when the awards and raffles began to be announced.

By the time the winners of the people’s choice restaurant awards were announced, about 80 people were still present.

“Every restaurant that was here should be getting an award, and we so appreciate all of you coming and putting so much into this,” Bill said. “But we did have people put in ballots, and so we do have to announce winners, and they get to display these beautiful trophies in their restaurant for a year, until we take it back for the next one.”

First place went to Miley’s Cafe, second place was Tortas De Fuego and third place was Doc’s BBQ, a new restaurant that opened Oct. 1.
The Rotary wrapped almost 40 baskets they raffled off during the event, ranging in value from about $60 to about $600.

“If you want to win the lottery you have to get tickets,” Hess said. “So I bought some tickets. And guess what? I won the first basket.”
Inside were 12 beer party glasses, some wine and a gift certificate to a local winery. The total value was about $226, she said.

“I’m just amazed at the generosity of our community, because every single thing in these baskets was donated,” Bill said.

Bill received a few tickets to Out of Africa Wildlife Park where she said she’ll take Samuel Callau-Knigge, her Sedona Red Rock High School exchange student from Norway.

Several baskets were unclaimed as the winners left before they were announced, but Bill said “they’ll get a phone call.”