BUFFALO, N.Y. — If you want to attend the Taste of Buffalo this year, you're going to need an admission ticket and you will have to purchase that ticket in advance.
This and other changes were announced last month in order to provide a safe event in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Tickets go on sale June 11 for the 38th annual event set for July 10 and 11.
Admission tickets are $20 and will include food and beverage tickets. Children ages 3 and younger will be free. No admission tickets will be sold at the festival.
Tops, longtime presenting sponsor, will offer a special bonus ticket for the first session, Saturday from 11 AM - 3 PM. The $20 admission fee admits one and includes $15 in food and beverage tickets, which includes a $5 bonus. Tickets for that session are only available at Tops stores.
The other three sessions are: 4:30-8:30 PM Saturday, 10 AM-2 PM Sunday and 3:30-7:30 PM Sunday. The $20 for those sessions admits one and includes $10 in food and beverage tickets.
Another change this year, you will have the option to buy additional food tickets online at the time you buy your admission ticket. A minimum of one admission ticket must be purchased in order to buy additional food tickets online. Guests will get their food tickets when redeeming their admission tickets at the gate. You will also be able to buy food tickets at the ticket tent at the festival during all four sessions.
Each ticket will let guests know which of three gates they should enter. Gates will open 30 minutes before the start of each session. Guests will be given wristbands when they arrive for their specific session and be asked to leave at the end of each session. You will be able to buy tickets for multiple sessions.
The festival's perimeter will be closed and monitored by security.
Guests who are fully vaccinated will not have to wear a mask. Guests who are not are asked to wear a mask except when eating or drinking.
You will no longer need proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test but you will have to fill out an online health questionnaire within 24 hours of arriving.