Summer is officially in full swing, and that means the City of La Porte’s Friday Night Live series is hitting its stride. On Friday, July 7 the City of La Porte held its third annual Taco Fest. Hundreds of people from all over Northwest Indiana gathered in downtown La Porte to watch several local restaurants go head-to-head in a Best Taco competition that left everyone hungry for more.
“It’s just a great night. There’s some great music, a great atmosphere, and everyone leaves having had a good time,” said Events Director Brett Binversie.
From the very beginning of Taco Fest, it was clear the event was going to have one of the biggest turnouts this summer by far. Mayor Tom Dermody was blown away by the number of people standing in lines eagerly waiting to get their hands on a taco.
“I can’t believe this crowd. This is amazing. It’s incredible to think about where we first started when people would come to us and say they felt like there was nothing to do in La Porte, and see where we are now with our Friday Night Lives. There’s so much to do here in La Porte, and everyone loves a good taco,” said Dermody.
The highlight of the night was the Best Taco competition. Ten local restaurants entered the competition to put their cooking skills to the test and see which business had the best taco. Attendees got to try a taco from each restaurant and vote on their favorite one. Tocayos’ birria taco ended up taking the Best Taco crown, while Kostka Krave won a close second place with its buffalo chicken taco.
Sarah Garcia, co-owner of Tocayos, was ecstatic that she and her husband’s restaurant won the competition. She explained that her husband’s mother brought the traditional taco recipe with her from Mexico and that his family has been cooking it ever since. It was special to get to share it with so many people and receive such wonderful feedback.
“It’s so amazing. I can’t wait to call my husband and tell him that we won!” exclaimed Garcia.
Garcia was touched that the City of La Porte threw such a wonderful event to support local businesses as well as give people an opportunity to have fun.
“I just absolutely love it. I don’t think there’s anything more important than seeing local businesses be supported by their community and city. The pride that the people of La Porte have for their fellow community members is awesome. We’re proud to be here in Northwest Indiana,” said Garcia.
As if the Best Taco competition wasn’t exciting enough, the event also featured seven different artisans and vendors. People had a wonderful time looking at all kinds of beautiful artwork and crafted goods. King of the Kettle was a particularly popular vendor--all throughout the night people could be seen holding armfuls of delicious kettle corn of all flavors.
When people needed a break from all the snacking, they headed out to the dance floor to rock the night away to some fun tunes. The kids in attendance especially loved the colorful array of hula hoops that were provided and did their best to hula-hoop to the beat.
At the end of the night, everyone went home with full bellies and even fuller smiles. It’s easy to say that this year’s Taco Fest was one of the most popular events of the summer yet. The City of La Porte is grateful to everyone who helped make the night such a scrumptious success.
“I couldn’t be happier with how tonight turned out. It was truly a team effort. The street department put up all the signs, the parks department cleaned everything up, and the Civic Auditorium team will clean everything once the night is over. Another huge thank you goes to Arnett Construction as well for sponsoring tonight,” said Binversie.
If you missed out on tonight’s Taco Fest, don’t worry. The City of La Porte has plenty more exciting events in store. On August 11 the city will hold its annual Cheeseburger in Paradise event. The night will feature a talented Jimmy Buffet tribute band that people just can’t get enough of. Similarly to Taco Fest, 12 food vendors will also compete in a Best Cheeseburger competition.
This year’s Sunflower Fair, one of La Porte’s biggest events of the year, will be held on September 16. Over 125 artisan vendors and over 15 food vendors will take up 10 blocks of La Porte’s downtown for people to peruse and enjoy all day long.
So come on out to the City of La Porte and see all that it has to offer--you won’t be disappointed.
To learn more about the City of La Porte and its fun lineup of summer events, visit https://www.cityoflaporte.com/.
