Taste of Minnesota to return next year
Four years after being forced into bankruptcy A Taste of Minnesota will return to St. Paul next summer, managed by a team that includes the widow of the event's founder.
The music and food festival will be held July 3-6. The management team includes Linda Maddox, whose late husband Ron founded the festival in 1983.
Maddox took steps toward resurrecting Taste of Minnesota for this year. As MPR News first reported in January, she tentatively reserved the State Capitol grounds for that purpose.
The Capitol hosted Taste of Minnesota until 2003, when it moved to Harriet Island, which is where next year's event will be held. New promoters took over the show in 2009, and started charging admission. The strategy failed, and the festival declared bankruptcy in 2010, owing creditors $1.6 million.
In 2012, Live Nation tried its hand at a big summer music show on Harriet Island, headlined by Tool and the Dave Matthews Band. The River's Edge festival fizzled after the first year, and mayor Chris Coleman's office says it's now on "permanent hiatus."
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.