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KEENE, N.H. – (MyKeeneNow) Throughout the years I worked as a freelance writer, I always featured upcoming events – very rarely did I cover them.
When I had the opportunity to attend A Taste of Keene this past Saturday, and write a piece for my new website as a taste-tester, of course I had to jump on it. I also knew it was the opening day of ArtWalk and a festival featuring live music, demonstrations and art displays were also on tap.
This year’s food festival was the fourth annual event in downtown Keene.
Michael Remy, the events chair for the Keene Young Professionals Network (A Taste of Keene’s sponsor) and a city councilor, said an estimated 7,500 attended this year-more than double last year’s number (3,000). The first was held in June 2021 as a downtown reopening following COVID-19 pandemic closures.
The festival’s footprint has also grown: the first couple of years it was confined to Central Square – this year, it included both sides of Main Street down to Emerald Street and part of Roxbury Street.
This year, there were more than 30 vendors (nearly all of them based right in Keene) from which to sample on what turned out to be a cloudless, picture-perfect, 80-degree day. Festival-goers purchased tokens from booths situated throughout downtown to exchange for food and beverages.
It was a foodie’s paradise. Menus featured such elevated comfort food items as several varieties of mac ‘n’ cheese (roasted garlic from Machina Kitchen & Art Bar, maple bacon from Jenna’s Market, truffle cheddar from the Monadnock Food Co-op, jerk chicken from Yahso Jamaican Grille) and Asian/Asian fusion (Maine lobster bao buns from Fireworks, bang bang chicken skewers from Muse Bistro, cold sesame peanut noodles from festival first-timers, the Community Kitchen). The dessert menus were just as expansive: on the list were such selections as waffle bites with Nutella (Yolo Cafe), blueberry cheesecake supreme (Soul and Shadow Emporium and Tea Lounge) and cannoli (Granita Enoteca).
I arrived at 11:45 (the event ran from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) and got in one of the long token booth lines (it moved quickly) and bought $40 worth of tokens (equal to 20) and each of the food/beverage vendors’ items went for between one (for a snack/appetizer or beverage sample) and five (for a high-end entree) tokens.
I started at Machina Kitchen & ArtBar’s food stand because I had noticed beforehand on their menu they were serving vegetable potstickers. They were tender and flavorful and the dipping sauce was a perfectly-seasoned accompaniment.
Next I was onto Luca’s Mediterranean Cafe, where I sampled some meatballs and a lamb kebob with tzatsiki sauce, Greek style. The meatballs are one of my favorites at Luca’s, and the lamb was suberb, especially with the sauce. I would say the lamb was the highlight of the day. I have only eaten lamb two other times in my life-and this was the absolute best and changed my mind about it for good.
I have to hand it to the Taste of Keene organizers and the City of Keene for coordinating such a perfectly-organized event. Central Square and Main Street were blocked to vehicular traffic, which made it a safe event that was simple to move around in from booth to booth. Lines at most of the booths were long throughout the day, but I didn’t have to wait in any one line for more than a few minutes tops.
After sauntering over to Railroad Square to check out artist Adam Schepker’s sculpture-in-progress-a group of branches he’d shaped spray-painted gold to encircle a set dining table (he called it the Golden Arches and the place settings a Happy Meal), I stayed for a bit to take in some live music performances under the series of tents set up there.
Under one tent, make-up artist Caitlen Brown of This Must Be the Face was busily painting faces with supreme artistry as part of the ArtWalk Festival.
Under another tent, Jeff Kolter of Know Your Program entertained the crowd with his music-based concept project. His stage setup includes his bass, a loop station, vocal effects pedal and laptop. Backing tracks he plays, records, produces and mixes include a drum sequencer, guitar, keyboard, bass and vocals.
See him perform: (footage recorded by Roger Weinreich)
Keene ArtWalk (this year’s is the 33rd), the longest consecutively-running festival in downtown Keene, is an annual showcase and celebration of artists (including new and emerging) of the Monadnock Region. This year’s runs through Sunday, June 9. Patrons can take a self-guided tour around town, where local businesses partner with artists by offering gallery space for 10 days. It not only provides an opportunity for artists to display their work but to sell it. Anyone interested in purchasing artwork can obtain a price list inside each business where the art is displayed as well as the artist’s bio and contact information. Artists are encouraged to keep the design of the storefront window in mind when creating their artwork display.
After taking in some of the sights and sounds on Railroad Square, I was back into the throng of gastronomes and looking for my next selection. I stopped at CC&D’s Kitchen Market’s tent, where I ordered a pulled pork bbq slider with some zesty slaw, which was mayo-free but did have a little kick to it.
I had planned to stop at Eat More Cake and Frisky Cow Gelato (both located in the same storefront in downtown Keene) but I misplaced my remaining tokens (found them the next day). If I had, I would have ordered a carrot cupcake and any gelato flavor with chocolate in it- but you really can’t go wrong with any of their tasty sweet treats.
I also would have made a pass by Artisan Hill Treats of Dublin. My foodie friend Laina Barakat, who made a sensational video reel featuring everything she and her pals sampled that day (https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7slAckOsPu/?igsh=dnZqb3R6YWx1Zmto) recommended their fluffernutter cookie sandwich-marshmallow cream and peanut butter sauce between two homemade peanut butter cookies.
There’s always next year.