Eat your way through the Queen City at the first Charlotte StrEATS festival
The first Charlotte StrEATS festival will celebrate the food of the Queen City’s neighborhoods April 15-16 with cooking demonstrations, vendors, family-friendly activities, food trucks and more.
The new two-day food festival at Gateway Village in uptown Charlotte is free and open to the public, and it will serve as the endcap to Charlotte SHOUT! Day one is a family-centered day. Day two will feature a mini-map of the city organized by neighborhoods for those purchase tasting tickets to eat their way through.
[Related: Your ultimate guide to all of Charlotte’s spring festivals this year]
Here’s the quick details
WHEN: Family night is Friday, April 15 from 5-8:30 p.m. The festival continues Saturday, April 16 from noon-6 p.m., with a ticketed restaurant tasting from noon-3 p.m.
WHERE: Gateway Village, 900 W Trade St., Charlotte, NC 28202
TICKETS: The festival is free and open to the public, but the restaurant tasting portion of the Saturday event will require tickets. Those tickets start at $85 and go on sale Wednesday, March 16 at cltstreatsfestival.com.
More information
On Friday, festival-goers can watch cooking demonstrations from local culinary students, eat from dessert and food trucks, shop vendors and enjoy kid-friendly activities. Participating food trucks include Another Food Truck and Jimmy Pearl’s.
On Saturday, the free entertainment includes more cooking demonstrations, vendors, live music and beverages from NoDa Brewing and Summit Seltzer. The headliner of those cooking demonstrations will be Food Network’s Amanda Freitag, taking the stage at 2 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session.
Food trucks will be available for purchase. And a neighborhood cook-off will feature chefs preparing a dish that best represents their neighborhood. Those who purchase tasting tickets will be able to taste their way through those neighborhoods from noon-3 p.m.
Restaurants participating in the tasting are:
Representing NoDa — The Goodyear House and Salud Cervecería
Representing Plaza Midwood - Dish and Supperland
Representing South Park - Dogwood
Representing Dilworth - 300 East
Representing East Charlotte - Manolo’s Bakery
Representing Camp North End - Leah & Louise and Plant Joy
Representing South End - Bardo
Representing Uptown - The Asbury and Sea Level
Representing West Charlotte - Counter- Biblio and Toucan Louie’s Cafe and Roastery
Kristen Wile of “Unpretentious Palate” and Casey Wilson of Carben Events + Marketing have partnered to produce the event.
“Unpretentious Palate’s motto begins with ‘Celebrate the good,’” Wile said. “That’s precisely what this festival is all about: celebrating the diverse restaurants that make Charlotte’s culinary scene so impressive.”
Charlotte StrEATS
Location: 900 W Trade St., Charlotte, NC 28202
Neighborhood: Fourth Ward/Uptown
When: April 15-16
Cost: Free, but ticketed restaurant tasting is $85.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 10:31 AM.
