{"id":11222,"date":"2014-08-01T14:40:45","date_gmt":"2014-08-01T18:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/?p=11222"},"modified":"2014-08-01T14:40:45","modified_gmt":"2014-08-01T18:40:45","slug":"still-time-for-restaurants-to-join-the-junior-leagues-32nd-annual-taste-of-the-town-scheduled-for-nov-2-deadline-to-participate-is-friday-sept-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/2014\/08\/01\/still-time-for-restaurants-to-join-the-junior-leagues-32nd-annual-taste-of-the-town-scheduled-for-nov-2-deadline-to-participate-is-friday-sept-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Still time for restaurants to join the Junior League\u2019s 32nd Annual Taste of the Town scheduled for Nov. 2; Deadline to participate is Friday, Sept. 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

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FORT MYERS, Fla. (Aug. 1, 2014) \u2013 There is still time for restaurants to sign up to participate in the Junior League of Fort Myers, Inc.<\/a>\u2019s 32nd<\/sup> Annual Taste of the Town to be held on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event will once again be held at JetBlue Park, the Boston\u00a0Red Sox\u2019s 106-acre Spring Training and Player Development Complex, located at 11500 Fenway South Drive in Fort Myers.<\/p>\n

The Junior League\u2019s Taste of the Town is Southwest Florida\u2019s original \u201ctaste\u201d event and one of the largest outdoor food and entertainment festivals drawing nearly 10,000 people each year. The funds from this annual event benefit the JLFM, whose volunteer mission provides thousands of dollars annually in volunteer services and donations to programs supporting women and children in the region. These programs include the Junior League\u2019s national program Kids in the Kitchen to help fight childhood obesity, the <\/em>ongoing work with at-risk girls in the juvenile justice system, as well as work throughout the community in partnership with many organizations through the League\u2019s Helping Hands\u00a0program, which provides volunteer woman-power to organizations such as Big Brother Big Sisters, the Abuse Counseling & Treatment Shelter, Early Learning Coalition, the Supporting Independent Young Adults organization and many more.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s event raised more than $114,000 for these organizations.<\/p>\n

Applications are still being accepted for local restaurants to showcase their fare in the 2014 Taste of the Town. Interested restaurants and vendors can contact the JLFM at 239-277-1197 or totrestaurants@jlfm.org<\/a>. Space is limited to 50 restaurants, and the deadline to participate is Friday, Sept. 5.<\/p>\n

To date, 25 restaurants have signed up to participate including: Aurelio\u2019s Pizza, Ben & Jerry\u2019s, Cabana\u2019s Beach Bar, Cheeseburger In Paradise, Cru, El Gaucho Inca, Famous Dave\u2019s BBQ, Grace & Shelly\u2019s Cupcakes, Hooters, Iguana Mia, Kona Ice, Miller\u2019s Ale House, Norman Love Artisan Gelato, Origami, Papa Murphy\u2019s Pizza, Parrot Key, Reuben\u2019s Smokehouse & Catering, Ruth\u2019s Chris Steakhouse, Stevie Tomato\u2019s Sports Page, Ted\u2019s Montana Grill, Texas Roadhouse, The Big Game, The Bubble Room, The Lazy Flamingo and The Melting Pot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are so excited to have an event like this to share with our community,\u201d said Sasha Warren, 2014-2015 president of JLFM. \u201cMany of our participating restaurants return year after year, and to us, this speaks worlds about our vendors, as this event provides an opportunity for them to not only connect with Southwest Florida on a business level but also to support people in need by participating in this charity event each year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the annual Taste of the Town food festival, participating restaurants have the opportunity to present their dishes in the \u201cBest of Taste\u201d contest with local celebrities judging the following categories: Best Appetizer, Best Entr\u00e9e and Best Dessert. Judging will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at JetBlue Park. The dish with the most overall points is also given the \u201cWinners Circle\u201d award for best overall dish. Winners in each category will be listed at each restaurant\u2019s booth, announced the day of the event, given a certificate to display in their restaurant and mentioned in a special press release announcing the winners in each category.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event is so much more than a fundraiser; it\u2019s a win-win for our community,\u201d Warren added. \u201cTaste of the Town promotes and supports local businesses and the musical arts, creates resources for community service and brings our community together.\u201d<\/p>\n

CenturyLink has signed on as a $2,500 Hospitality Sponsor. Other sponsorship opportunities are still available.<\/p>\n

A member of the Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc., the Junior League of Fort Myers, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization made up of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. The JLFM is also a granting organization, providing mini-grants to organizations throughout Southwest Florida\u2019s five-county area to programs that create better life outcomes for our local youth. JLFM memberships are open to all women aged 21 and older of all races, religions and national origin who demonstrate an interest in and commitment to voluntarism.\u00a0For more information about the JLFM, call 239-277-1197 or visit www.jlfm.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more information about the annual Taste of the Town, call 239-277-1197 or email tasteofthetown@jlfm.org<\/a>. For ongoing updates on Taste of the Town, visit www.jlfmtaste.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FORT MYERS, Fla. (Aug. 1, 2014) \u2013 There is still time for restaurants to sign up to participate in the Junior League of Fort Myers, Inc.\u2019s 32nd Annual Taste of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1],"tags":[3077,3078,3079,291,3080,3081,3082,3083,3084,3085,3086,3087,80,284,663,3088,2400,2402,2403,3089,3090,3091,3092,3093,3094,3095,3096,3097,16,3098,1046,1255,1247,672,2205,1689,71,19,2375,548,3099,2410,3100,3101,3102,3103,3104,3105,3106,3107,2596,3108],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11222"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11222\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mcreativepr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}