Taste of Bloomington cancelled . . . again
The once annual in-person celebration of over 40 of Bloomington’s local restaurants, local vendors, and regionally headlining musical acts has been cancelled for the 4th straight year. Well, in all fairness, 2020 and 2021 morphed into a To-Go version of the event that once brought thousands of people downtown to celebrate food, family, and fun; but 2022 was cancelled after musicians were booked and tickets had been sold.
This year, it was shut down before it even started, according to a Facebook message which appeared on their official site on Thursday, February 23rd. Increased costs and labor shortages were among the reasons cited for the disappointing news. It reads:
The Taste of Bloomington volunteer committee, sponsors and suppliers appreciate your support over the 40 years. We are dedicated to organizing an event that surpasses expectations of quality, safety and the variety of previous years. After much consideration, the Taste of Bloomington will not be held in 2023. Due to increased supply costs, labor shortages, reduced site and a restaurant industry recovering and changing from the pandemic, our former Taste of Bloomington model is not sustainable. We regretfully have made this difficult decision. We hope a refreshed version will soon return. We encourage you to eat at your favorite small, independent restaurant and nightclubs and try a new one. Below are a few live events coming up this summer:
Farmers Market begins April 1 at Showers Common Food Truck Fridays begins April 7 at Switchyard Park
Granfalloon on June 10 featuring The Flaming Lips on Kirkwood Avenue
Handmade Market on June 10 on Kirkwood Avenue
Art Fair on the Square June 24 on Courthouse Lawn
Gallery Walk each First Friday from 5 pm to 8 pmWe appreciate fond memories and constructive comments. Foul language and disrespectful comments will not be tolerated. info@downtownbloomington.com
Downtown Bloomington Inc, a non-profit organization which advocates for business and industry in the Downtown Bloomington sector, was overseeing the event in recent years and did not return a call requesting additional information. The organization has not updated their website in 4 years and has a ‘who’s who’ of local politicians and City Staff members, with a sprinkling of business owners, listed as Board Members. This is also the group which has been the primary lobby over the past 10+ years, for a Convention Center Expansion. Talisha Coppock, the only listed staff member for Downtown Bloomington, Inc also serves as the Executive Director of the Monroe County Convention Center.
Ivy Tech and Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship partner to offer Indiana College Core
Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington and the Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship have partnered to help students get a head start on college by offering the Indiana College Core in high school. The credential is a 30 credit hour general education core of college credit guaranteed to transfer between Indiana public colleges and universities.
Students take high school and Ivy Tech classes at the same time through dual credit or dual enrollment. Earning the core provides students the chance to Start As a Sophomore at Ivy Tech or other public colleges, having already completed the first year of college credits.
The Academy is the ninth school in Ivy Tech Bloomington’s service area to join early college at Ivy Tech. Other early college high schools include Bloomfield, Bloomington High School North, Eastern Greene, Loogootee, Martinsville, Mitchell, Paoli, and West Washington.
For more information, visit https://www.ivytech.edu/programs/special-programs-for-students/high-school-programs/indiana-college-core-in-high-school/.
Former state budget director Jason Dudich to join IU
Jason Dudich, former State of Indiana Budget Director and current Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer at the University of Indianapolis, has been appointed as Associate Vice President for fiscal and economic strategy at Indiana University. Dudich, an IU alumnus, will report to IU Vice President for University Relations Michael Huber. He will provide financial management expertise and policy leadership to advance IU’s economic engagement initiatives and the university’s government relations efforts at the state and federal level.
From 2017 to 2019, Dudich served as Indiana’s budget director, overseeing the state’s $34 billion annual operating and capital budget. He collaborated with Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and staff, the Indiana General Assembly, and state agency directors on fiscal policy, overall budget management and state policy issues. Dudich has played an instrumental role in advancing the Governor’s signature economic development program, the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative. He is a member of the READI Review Committee, an external seven-member citizen committee charged with evaluating regional development projects and programs designed to catalyze economic growth and talent development in Indiana. The committee proposes major project and funding recommendations to the Indiana Economic Development Corp. based on its proposal reviews.
Dudich earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs, Public Policy, and Public Finance from the IU Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. For more than seven years, he has served on the school’s distinguished alumni council.
This Week in Hoosier History
1938 – Mary Wien, a junior at Purdue University, won a contest as best cherry pie maker in America. Her award was $100 and a trip to Washington to meet First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
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