COOKING UP A GREAT TIME

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

  TASTE OF OMAHA FESTIVAL

Celebrating 25 years of Summer Fun

Plans are coming together for the 25th Anniversary “TASTE OF OMAHA” Festival of Great Foods & Entertainment, a unique community celebration, to be held Friday, June 3rd through Sunday, June 5th, 2022, at Elmwood Park, 67th & Pacific Streets.  The “TASTE OF OMAHA” is a 3-day extravaganza and outdoor food festival open to the public and free to attend, thanks to the many partners and sponsors that support the Event.

“Feature Foods from many of Omaha’s top restaurants, good entertainment and family activities for the kids… and you have the recipe for the TASTE OF OMAHA,” says Mike Mancuso, Festival Director and Event Producer.  “Omaha has a tremendous reputation for fantastic restaurants and food companies”.   The Festival has become one of the biggest Annual Events for our city bringing together a dazzling selection of great foods and culinary delights, uniting food lovers from throughout the Midwest area, to TASTE, relax and enjoy as a family activity.

Several locations were reviewed by the committee to move the TASTE OF OMAHA FESTIVAL with the planning beginning over a year ago. “The University of Nebraska- Omaha campus with ample parking and easy access to one of Omaha’s biggest and historic parks, Elmwood Park, allowed the festival an excellent location to continue and grow the event,” said Mancuso.  The 2022 Festival will offer free parking from the parking garage and surface parking areas on the Scott Campus at 67th & Pacific Streets as well as a Free Shuttle to and from the Taste of Omaha Festival Entrance throughout the event.  The UNO Main Campus parking garages and surface parking will also be available for free parking.

The 2022 Festival will showcase outstanding Restaurants with exciting live entertainment daily.  This year, the Annual Event, will add more entertainment for everyone’s taste featuring stages and attractions throughout the Scenic Elmwood Park.  All Entertainment during the 3-day extravaganza is free to attend. The Taste of Omaha offers continuous Free Concerts all weekend long including Top National Entertainers combined with the best popular area bands and musicians will again be continuously performing throughout the Festival.

2022 Line-Up Announcements

Country Artist, Chris Bandi

Friday, June 3 at 8:30 PM

 Named “Artist to Watch” by Entertainment Weekly, with over 120 Million global streams, Chris Bandi is delighting fans with a modern country sound from his breakout debut single, “Man Enough Now,” followed by the rowdy hit “Probably at a Bar” and emotional “Would Have Loved Her” to his New Release climbing the charts, “Carolina Blue”.

Shoot To Thrill – AC / DC Tribute

Friday, June 3 at 8:30 PM

Performing the legendary raucous riffs, thrilling guitar solos and classic Rock ‘n Roll hits that have made AC/DC famous for over 45 years including “Live Wire”, “Whole Lotta Rosie”, “Back in Black”, “Let There Be Rock”, “What’s Next To The Moon”, “Hell’s Bells”, “Highway to Hell” and the popular Husker game, “Thunderstruck”. 

FRAN COSMO formerly of BOSTON

Saturday, June 4 at 8:30 PM

Singing their greatest mega hits “More Than a Feeling”, “Peace of Mind”, “Foreplay/Long Time”, “Rock and Roll Band”, “Smokin'”, “Don’t Look Back” and “Amanda” plus more. Fran Cosmo toured and recorded as lead singer from 1994 to 2004. This group also features his son, Anthony Cosmo, who is former lead guitarist.

Fran Cosmo was first featured on guitarist Barry Goudreau’s self-titled solo album in 1980, a prelude to the formation of Orion the Hunter in 1983. Orion the Hunter released an album in 1984 on Columbia Records, which yielded a hit single “So You Ran.” In 1994, Cosmo was featured as the sole lead vocalist on the platinum Boston album Walk On, which reached #7 on the Billboard Charts and produced three hit singles, including “I Need Your Love”, which climbed to #4 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. Upon Brad Delp’s return to Boston for the concert tour (Delp never missed a Boston tour until his death in 2007), the two shared vocals in concert, where Delp said Cosmo covered “the really tough high parts.” In 1997, Cosmo was again featured on 2 of the songs Boston’s ‘Greatest Hits’ Album, and took an even larger role in the 2002 album Corporate America, with the addition of co-production to his credits as vocalist. Cosmo performed in Boston tours from 1994 to 2004, and currently performs in the band Cosmo with his son, Anton Cosmo (also a former member of Boston) performing the greatest hits of Boston. Boston is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s. Centered on guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Tom Scholz, the band is a staple of classic rock radio playlists.

Taste of Omaha All Stars Saturday at 8:30PM

25^th Anniversary Celebration featuring Omaha’s best, from the music of the British invasion, The Brits!, Lisa Larsen of High Heel, Steve Spurgeon of the Confidentials to The Belles, fresh home from a 35 city tour, and Las Vegas’ Best Frank Sinatra Tribute, Subby Anzaldo, Jr., as well as musicians of the Omaha Musicians Union, who are also celebrating their 125^th Anniversary.

Dave Webber of WOWT-6 Omaha Every Day show, will emcee and perform during the celebration.  Dave was featured at the Taste with Johnny Ray Gomez in 2009.

The Brits!  Playing historic British Invasion Music of the 1960’s along with Classic Rock with Joe Buda, Dan Gillpatrick, Bob Ford, Lou Rose and Terry Brennan.  Music from The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Hollies, Herman Hermits, The Who and many more British Bands. The Brits! started headlining at the Taste in 2015.

Lisa Larsen of High Heel, has performed at every Taste of Omaha Festival since 2007.  Lisa, who is one of the most dynamic female voices, will perform with her band at 6 pm and will join the celebration.

Steve Spurgeon of the Confidentials, has performed at almost every Taste since the beginning.  He will perform popular originals “Going to A Party” and “Wakeup in the USA”, that he has  performed across the Country to support First Responders as well as their Rhythm & Blues favorites.

Subby Anzaldo, Jr.  as seen on NBC’s “The Next Best Thing” and Las Vegas’ Best Frank Sinatra Tribute singing his favorites including “Strangers In the Night”, “Summer Love”,  “New York, New York”,  “Something Stupid”, “The Way You Look Tonight”, “That’s Life”, “Luck Be a Lady”, “Come Fly With Me” and “Fly Me to The Moon” .

The Belles,    With stunning vocals and lyrics rich as the soil of her native Nebraska, Belles weaves together the classic themes of country music with a modern touch to create music that resonates with fans both young and old.  Just completing a 35 city arena tour as main support for Jojo Siwa on D.R.E.A.M. The Tour 2022, Belles took front and center with a dynamic, compelling opening set, leading her band to standing ovations and cheering crowds. “They are not just my band; they are my real family,” says Belles. She isn’t lying. On drums is her brother, Drew, 18, attending Berklee College of Music on scholarship when not touring. Her mother, Jaymie – of vocal group Mulberry Lane, signed to MCA Records in 1999. Jaymie with her sisters, performed at the First Taste of Omaha Festival in 1998 launching their billboard hit “Harmless” and touring the world.

Between eating food bites and enjoying the music, you can watch cooking demonstrations, browse the festival displays, taste wines in the Barefoot Wine Gardens, or simply relax in the Beer Gardens overlooking this historic park, all at one time and one place.  There is also plenty of Family Entertainment in the Hiland Dairy Family Village, including amusement rides for the kids, balloons, and face painting.  Again this year, the KidZone Stage will offer continuous performances of comedy, magic, exotic animals and more entertainment for the children including:  The Amazing Lindy, Exotic Animals by Wildlife Encounters, Nebraska Native Raptors & Anthony’s Ballistic Balloons. The Festival also Spotlight’s Great Omaha Chefs on the Culinary Chef Stage featuring demonstrations by some of Omaha’s best chefs.

            Omaha’s first large-scale electric vehicle ride and drive event, presented by Omaha Public Power District, will be held at the 2022 TASTE OF OMAHA FESTIVAL on Saturday, June 4th from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Elmwood Park.  “As growing numbers of people select electric vehicles, public power utilities like OPPD are here to keep our customers engaged and informed,” said Judy Emswiler of OPPD.  The OPPD EV Ride and Drive offers people the chance to see these vehicles up close and get behind the wheel for a test drive.”  Festivalgoers will have the opportunity to test drive current EV models on the market.  Invited brands include models from Tesla, Volkswagen, Chevy, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, Ford and others.   They’ll also get a chance to talk to OPPD representatives and dealers about owning an EV.  Sign up today to reserve a free test drive and free festival tickets for delicious food, amusement rides and drinks!

    The Festival boils down to one thing, and that’s the food.  Restaurants of all varieties will pitch their tents at the Festival grounds for 3 days, cooking the specialty items that have made them some of the favorites in the Omaha area.  All types of food will be served at the “TASTE” – from Omaha’s pizza to juicy barbecued ribs. So put your taste buds on alert now because they will get a workout at the “TASTE OF OMAHA”.  The Festival  offers each person an opportunity to taste a wide selection of  Omaha’s beloved restaurant dishes including Mexican, Italian, Greek, Oriental, Mediterranean, Polish as well as Continental and American cuisine. The Festival will also highlight Omaha’s rich ethnic diversity at the World Pavilion featuring unique Ethnic restaurants and foods with music, dancing and performers from colorful Flamenco and Irish Dancing to Fire Spinning Performers.  After tasting all of these delightful foods, you’ll probably want to top it all off with one of the fabulous desserts offered, from your favorite ice cream flavor to cheesecake, that is sure to make your day at the “Taste” complete.

        The “TASTE OF OMAHA”, Festival of Great Foods and Entertainment, will be open Friday, June 3, from 5 PM – 11 PM, Saturday, June 4, from 11 AM to 11 PM and Sunday, June 5, from 11 AM to 8 PM.  The Festival is Free to attend thanks to Community Sponsors and Partners.  The TASTE is sponsored in part by Barefoot Wines, LIQs, Hiland Dairy, Nebraska Lottery, Rotella’s Bakery, Veridian Credit Union, Coke, Pinnacle Bank and Douglas County.