The annual Taste of the Town event at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center is celebrating its 41st anniversary on Tuesday, November 4.

 It has always been and remains, one of the Grand Strand’s premier, “must attend” events. In addition to enjoying the area's finest restaurants that will be serving tapas-style food and delicious adult beverages, the social aspects of Taste of the Town are simply outstanding. And it all benefits St. Andrew Catholic School. 

“This year, we are promoting local restaurants with the hash tag “Try it here.  Love it there",  explains Debbie Wilfong, Taste of the Town chairperson for the school. “We have a new app being designed, so attendees can scan QR codes from the restaurants they visit and vote on their favorite choices. Additionally, they can also earn “badges” that will put them in drawings every hour to win gift certificates from restaurants. These “badges” are earned after visiting a certain number of restaurants. Random prizes will also be given to attendees - for example, “the 1,000th person through the door earns a gift certificate, etc.”

Also, Sam Diminich, an alum of St. Andrew and a Charlotte chef, will be present at Taste of the Town this year, she says. He beat Bobby Flay on the Food Network’s “Chopped - Superhero Chefs” with a lobster risotto in the “Beat Bobby Flay” episode.

“And this year we will have an intimate space with two halls at the convention center, so the best restaurants in the Grand Strand and Conway area are vying for an opportunity to participate,” Wilfong explains. A live band will also be on site.

Taste of the Town is from 4-9 p.m. Cost of admission is $8 and is free for kids 14 and under. Food Tickets: $1 each (menu items between 1 and 5 tickets).

Proceeds boost the school’s capital improvement fund for purchase of items such as playground equipment, structural renovations, and new technology, in addition to other Catholic-backed charities.