Waconia to welcome Taste of Minnesota for a second year

Waconia is welcoming the news that the Taste of Minnesota celebration will return for a second consecutive summer.

The festival, which features food, entertainment and fireworks, will unfold on the Carver County Fairgrounds, 35 miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis, on July 2 to 5 — the July 4th weekend.

Last year, after a three-year hiatus, Taste of Minnesota had been scheduled for St. Paul's Harriet Island Park, but it had to be relocated after the area flooded.

The Taste of Minnesota has made something of a comeback after undergoing some challenges in the past few years. Linda Maddox, the widow of festival co-founder Ron Maddox, resurrected it after its new owners filed for bankruptcy in 2010 when their attempt to reinvent the festival failed.

Then, in June 2014, just days before the event was to be held, Maddox had to scramble to find a new location when Harriet Island Park flooded. She looked to the west.

"We received a very warm welcome in Waconia last year when we were in urgent need of a new home," Maddox, general manager of the event, said recently in a news release. "After carefully evaluating St. Paul and other venue options for 2015, we decided to return to Waconia."

Last year, about 80,000 people attended the $2 million four-day event, Maddox said.

The first Taste of Minnesota, inspired by a Chicago celebration for families that didn't have summer cabins to go to, was held on the Minnesota State Capitol grounds in 1983. Ron Maddox and Dick Broeker created it as a free summer festival featuring foods from local restaurants, entertainment and fireworks.

Over its almost-30-year history, it has drawn about 200,000 people a year.

Last year, the Carver County Fairgrounds proved to be an ideal location because of the layout of the grounds, the easy drive from the metro area's core and "most of all, the outpouring of support from the Waconia community," the festival's recent statement said.

Waconia businesses and residents are welcoming the news that it will return.

"It's really a gem of a town, and I think people are going to be happy to have it back," said Bill Miller, partner at the newly opened J. Carver Distillery in Waconia. "It worked really well last year, and I didn't hear anybody complaining."

"By accident or by purpose, [Waconia] has certainly turned into that sort of area," Mayor Jim Sanborn said.

The city's gas stations and restaurants benefited from last year's celebration, he said. And from the city's perspective, Taste of Minnesota was a calm and well-attended event.

"I was surprised," Sanborn said. "When you get something like this in the last minute, you don't really know how it will go. It really went well [last year] and got people excited and wanting it to come back."