Fresh off the Taste of Home Cooking School that the VDT sponsors each year, this weekend is the annual Taste of Valdosta, sponsored by Quota International of Valdosta to benefit the organization’s many charitable efforts.

If you’ve never been to a Taste of Valdosta event before, it’s awesome. For someone like me who likes just a little bit of a lot of things, it’s ideal, but even for those who like a lot of food, it seems to add up pretty quickly.

The really cool thing about the event is that you get to try all sorts of things that you might have always wanted to, or try a restaurant that you haven’t ever eaten at before.

There’s a $5 admission fee and then you buy tokens for 50 cents each from the Quota folks, and each vendor provides you with an item they are sampling for one, two, three or four tokens, depending on what it is. One year I went from eating chocolate cheesecake, my weakness, at one booth to coconut shrimp and crab bisque at others.

Each vendor usually brings a half dozen or so items to choose from, and there are 20 vendors this year, including a number of newcomers, such as Submarina, Red Velvet, Becky’s Cakes, Barberitos, SurEste and the Georgia Pasty Co. I also heard straight from the owner’s lips that even the Smok’n Pig is participating this year.

There aren’t too many events where you can do something for others simply by eating. Support the Quota Club’s event, enjoy a relaxed atmosphere with friends and family, and try a variety of menu items from a variety of restaurants.

They’re serving lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. at the James H. Rainwater Conference Center Saturday.

For more information, including a full list of vendors, see the ads which have been running in the Times and consider coming out this weekend.

Break Bread Together, Methodist Home for Children and the Partnership Health Center will all benefit from your attendance and you will benefit from your enjoyment!

Business Roundup

A new dentist office is opening in Valdosta. Dr. Larry Black of Quitman Family Dentistry and Dr. Eric Castor of Lakeland Family Dentistry have partnered to open a new facility in Valdosta with a general practice by day and a walk-in after hours clinic evenings and weekends.

Valdosta Family Dentistry is located at the corner of Connell Road and North Ashley Street in the new North Ashley Professional Plaza, Suite 130, Building H. The practice specializes in helping patients who don’t have a regular dentist or who don’t go to the dentist regularly.

Speaking of the North Ashley Professional Plaza, if you’ve been by there lately, they’re moving forward with their plans for the next phase of building. They’re preparing the property for a new road and it looks like construction will start soon.

There is a new store on North Ashley Street called Weekend Fashions. The new shop is between Firehouse Subs and the nail shop near SGMC.