The Summit Federal Credit Union Taste of Syracuse Rolls Out Revamped 2020 Festival
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Syracuse, New York - Organizers for The Summit Federal Credit Union Taste of Syracuse, Central New York’s biggest two-day food and music festival, have announced that they will still be hosting a 2020 event after all, but with a twist.
“To ensure the health and safety of our guests, we have made the decision to hold The Summit Federal Credit Union Taste of Syracuse virtually on June 5 and 6 from the event’s Facebook page, @TasteOfSyracuse, starting at 6:00 pm each evening,” said Carrie Wojtaszek, Chief Operating Officer for Galaxy Media. “Festival-goers are encouraged to still ‘eat their hearts out’ by creating their favorite restaurants’ Taste recipes and competing to be a ‘TOPS Chef’ for a chance to win a $50 gift card to both Tops Friendly Markets and a local restaurant.”
Recipe cards will be available at the Taste of Syracuse website here and participants are encouraged to shop at their local Tops Friendly Markets to stock up on all of the ingredients to make their Taste dishes. To be eligible, participants share pictures of their creations and tag The Summit Federal Credit Union and Tops Friendly Markets on the Taste of Syracuse Facebook page. Winning entries will be featured on the event’s website and social channels.
“The Taste of Syracuse isn’t just about food and music; it’s about bringing our community together,” said Wojtaszek. “We knew that we needed to come up with a way to still give Syracuse a ‘taste’ of the festival, showcase our local bands and restaurants, and help out an important local organization, the Food Bank of Central New York. We hope the community will join us – via our virtual Taste – as we listen to live music, eat and support the Food Bank.”
A “Taste Takeout Special” initiative will also be available where restaurants, food vendors and local wine and distillery vendors that were slated to participate in the original event will instead prepare special food and beverage deals available for takeout beginning June 5 through June 12. A full list of participants, menu items and information will be posted on the Taste of Syracuse website.
“Tastes” of the live festival, such as “best of” music from year’s past and present, food segments, contests, celebrity shout-outs and more will also be available on the event’s website and Facebook page along with a schedule of the online events that will happen both Friday and Saturday.
- Music - The Taste of Syracuse has always featured great food AND music. We’ll set the stage on your computer or smartphone and you can sing along to some of your favorites! From local acts to past national recording artists, get ready to get on your feet and sing along.
- Food - Many of our restaurants will be offering delicious Taste Takeouts for you to enjoy. We’ll talk to them and take a look at the delicious items that they’ll be offering during the virtual Taste of Syracuse weekend.
- Taste Recipes - Do you have what it takes to be our “Tops Chef”? Take a look at the recipe cards located on the website and create your favorite at home. Be sure to take a picture and tag The Summit Federal Credit Union and Tops Friendly Markets for your chance to win a $50 restaurant gift card and a $50 gift card to Tops.
- Celebrity Shoutouts - Our local celebrities might know a thing or two about cooking! They’ll stop by our virtual Taste to say hello and show you what recipes they’re cooking up.
- Give Back - Each year, the Taste of Syracuse partners with local charities. To ensure that those that are in need of food within our backyard don’t go without this summer, we’ll be working with the Food Bank of CNY to raise funds. We encourage our community to donate “Taste Bucks” that they would normally spend on the dollar samples at the festival. In lieu of The Summit’s popular prize wheel, those who donate to the Food Bank of Central New York during the festival, post about the donation to social media and tag The Summit will be entered to win prizes from The Summit. To donate, simply go to www.tasteofsyracuse.com and click “donate now”.
The Summit Federal Credit Union Virtual Taste of Syracuse is presented by Tops Friendly Markets.
“The Summit is so excited to be the title sponsor of this creative and fun virtual Taste of Syracuse,” said Cheryl Pohlman, Vice President of Community Relations and Marketing for The Summit Federal Credit Union. “As a local credit union committed to our region, we love that we can still support our local businesses and bands while keeping festival-goers safe and healthy. I encourage everyone to also join us to help people in need in our community by giving a donation to the Food Bank of Central New York.”
“2020 has truly proven to be a unique year in which to host an event and we applaud the organizers of the Taste of Syracuse for their innovative approach to this year’s festival,” said Kathleen Allen, senior manager of community relations for Tops Friendly Markets. “We are proud to return as the presenting sponsor of the Taste of Syracuse and support our fellow neighbors in need during these uncertain times. We look forward to seeing everyone virtually on June 5th and 6th and encourage everyone to donate their “Taste Bucks” that they traditionally would have used at the event to benefit the Food Bank of CNY.”
About The Summit Federal Credit Union
Founded in 1941, The Summit Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned, full-service financial cooperative. With approximately $1 billion in assets, The Summit has approximately 240 employees and provides a full range of affordable financial products and services to over 88,000 active members in Central and Western New York. For more information, visit summitfcu.org.
About Tops Friendly Markets
Tops Markets, LLC is headquartered in Williamsville, NY and operates 157 full-service supermarkets with five additional franchise stores and is the largest private, for-profit employer in Western New York. As a leading grocery retailer in New York, northern Pennsylvania, and western Vermont, and with the support of 14,500 associates, our core mission is to help our communities flourish. We support programs that seek to eradicate hunger and disease; promote the education of our youth; and to ensure we reduce environmental waste and energy consumption while providing our customers with sustainably sourced, high quality products. For more information, visit www.topsmarkets.com
