Taste Of Del Ray On The Move

The Taste of Del Ray will be even bigger in 2011, and it won't be held on a Thursday.

At Monday's Del Ray Business Association luncheon, officers announced that the Taste of Del Ray will not be held as the September First Thursday next year and will instead be its own event held on a Saturday or Sunday.

"If we have it on a weekend, more people can come," DRBA membership co-chair Suzanne Caldwell said. "It will be more of a celebration."

The 2010 Taste of Del Ray was the biggest ever, bringing in $7,500 for the DRBA. Several restaurants ran out of food at the event and scrambled to make do.

The specific date for 2011 Taste of Del Ray has not yet been determined. Many of the community events in Del Ray are held in the fall—Art on the Avenue, the Halloween Parade and Turkey Trot—so a spring date could be likely.

The September First Thursday will now be themed around Del Ray's service industry and home businesses.

Also at the luncheon, DRBA President and Cheesetique owner Jill Erber announced that the city hasn't been able to provide security for community events free of charge this year because of budgetary shortfalls. The association has spent $8,500 this year on police presence at community events, with the Turkey Trot still remaining on the calendar.