Excitement was in the air. News crews, media personnel, restaurant participants and festival volunteers bustled about, making final preparations for Friday’s 5 p.m. kick-off of The Taste of Pinellas. By 4:30, a crowd had gathered outside the entrance of Vinoy Park in St. Pete. This All Children’s Hospital annual fundraiser became a Saint Petersburg institution, beginning 25 years ago with just a few participating restaurants, and this year, that number has grown to over forty.
This article appears in May 19-25, 2011.