Taking it to the Streets returns to Old Town

The City of Clovis hosted Taking it to the Streets, a design and food festival, in Old Town during Mother’s Day weekend. Guests had the opportunity to tour professional on-street parklet designs throughout Old Town, sample foods from local restaurants, and enjoy live entertainment at the Centennial Plaza. (Billy Xiong/Clovis Roundup)

On May 12, Old Town Clovis sponsored Taking it to the Streets, where one-of-a-kind “Humitat” parklets were built around the downtown area as a way for guests to engage with local restaurants and shops.

It was the first year the festival offered a food sampling component that turned out to be a good twist between unique foods and urban design.

“Taking it to the Streets really celebrates the Clovis community’s efforts in planning, preserving and enhancing this unique area that we have,” said Karey Cha, event coordinator and Clovis Economic Development Intern. “It really invites the public to interact and participate in a more hands-on display. We are very proud of the diversity this event brings to Old Town Clovis.”

Clovis Mayor Bob Whalen kicked off the event by welcoming patrons and encouraging them to experience a “Taste of Clovis” while enjoying the live entertainment and parklets that were converted into more community-oriented spaces.

Guests appreciated the ambiance of Old Town while trying great food from featured restaurants.

Shira Gordon was a first-time attendee and biked five miles from her place in Fresno to help support her friend who was a competitor at the festival, in addition to savoring a Taste of Clovis firsthand.

“It was a fun way to spend an afternoon wandering around, experiencing people’s creative outputs in the parklets and enjoying new food and stores,” Gordon said.

Don Waddell, a local chef and Executive Director of the Clovis Culinary Center, stood out at the Centennial Park and passed out stamp cards that were purchased for $10 each. The stamp card featured 10 different restaurants that partook in the Taste of Clovis food program and permitted guests of all ages to enjoy specialty samples from the participating highlighted restaurants.

Restaurants like Scoops, Soups & More served root beer floats, while others like Blast & Brew offered fries or Papa’s Place who sampled mac and cheese.

Taking it to the Streets had its first festival back in 2016. Gordon didn’t attend the inaugural event then but said, “I would definitely go again in the future.”

All proceeds from this event benefit the Clovis Culinary Center.