Night one of Taste of Charlotte draws big crowds despite earlier rainy weather

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Crowds of people packed the streets of uptown Charlotte for the first night of the Taste of Charlotte festival Friday.

The festival offers members of the public an opportunity to sample food from dozens of Charlotte restaurants and partake in various activities too.

While Friday afternoon was damp and dreary, the rain stopped in time for people to hit the streets Friday night.

“It’s been good. It rained earlier but the rain went away and now we’ve got a good crowd for the rest of the night,” said Justin Shoener, a manager at the Sukoshi sushi restaurant.

Shoener said Sukoshi is new in town. They’re hoping to spread the word about their food through Taste of Charlotte.

“I think it’s great. We just opened in December and just for a lot of new people checking out, they’ve never heard of our restaurant. It’s nice to get the word out,” said Shoener.

Terza Nevs and her husband were enjoying a night on the town Friday. They decided to check out the Taste of Charlotte festival while they were in uptown.

“I had to make a decision about what shoes to where because the weather was looking really rough this morning when I went to the gym and I’m just glad it’s just really nice, and breezy and wonderful out here tonight,” said Nevs.

Gaby Jenkins said she waited until the rain stopped before heading to the festival. She was surprised by the crowds.

“It’s fun - like it’s pretty impressive actually considering how it was raining so hard earlier,” said Jenkins.

The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Admission to the event is free. Festival coins can be purchased to use for restaurant samples, drinks and activities.

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