Council hears review of 2024 event season as staff seeks to grow Taste Addison while shrinking subsidy

Taste Addison and other town-produced festivals played a central role in Addison’s branding and visitor strategy, Director of Special Events and Theater Abby Morales told the Town Council on Feb. 25, laying out metrics from 2024 and options to reduce the town subsidy for the events.

Morales told the council the events “drive visitors to Addison” and are funded in part by the hotel occupancy tax; she described 2024 as a year of transformation for Taste Addison with changes to site footprint, programming and ticketed experiences. She said the festival’s identity was repositioned as “Eats, Beats, and Artistic Treats” and highlighted year-over-year increases: a 13% rise in restaurant participation, a 50% increase in live entertainment spaces and a 37% increase in artisan/vendor participants. Morales also said presale ticket sales for the 2024 event were about 12% ahead of 2023, with roughly 18,000 presale tickets sold.

The nut graf: Councilmembers pressed Morales and staff to sharpen Taste Addison’s identity around restaurants — the festival’s original purpose — while also reducing the event subsidy. Council members and staff discussed programming, ticket pricing, vendor outreach and operational changes intended to make it easier for restaurants to participate.

Council members asked a range of operational questions and proposed ideas to boost restaurant involvement and reduce net cost. Councilmember Dan said he wanted the event more food-oriented and asked whether the festival could incorporate paid daytime experiences such as chef-led cooking classes or limited-capacity “masterclass” events to generate revenue and demand. Councilmember Chris suggested adding more visible, upscale food experiences to attract non–beer-drinking visitors and questioned whether increased entertainment spending on national headliners justified their cost. Councilmember Marlon emphasized reducing the subsidy and asked staff to continue looking at expense reductions in addition to revenue growth.

Morales described several specific 2024 initiatives aimed at supporting restaurant participation: a “Chow Hall” tent where the town paid for branded infrastructure so participating restaurants did not need to bring their own setups; Taste on the Tarmac, which reengaged culinary students and local chef Richard Chamberlain; and a newly created wine courtyard and speakeasy to diversify experiences and appeal to multiple demographics. Morales said some first‑time expenses for 2024 (for example, branded tent gables and wine‑service materials) were one‑time investments expected to reduce comparable expenses in 2025.

Council members asked about the event’s financials. Morales said the ticket presale price structure includes a $10 adult presale ticket (with Addison residents receiving a discount) and that the town offered paid add‑on experiences to preserve base ticket pricing. Councilmember Howard said the town carried a long-term contract for Kaboom Town fireworks and that vendor pricing had increased after prior contract renewals — staff said the town budgeted $150,000 for Kaboom Town fireworks in the current year and that a prior contract (with a 2020 bid) had been for $75,000; staff also said one vendor declined to bid after questions about shell counts and the airport aerobatic area.

Council direction and next steps: Council asked staff to continue the strategy of increasing restaurant participation and sponsorship revenue while identifying operational cost savings and measuring results across more than one season before making dramatic cuts to the festival’s scale. Multiple council members said they supported continuing the expanded program this year to evaluate newly added elements. Morales and staff said they will provide updated budget figures and post‑event metrics in advance of the 2026 budget discussions.

Ending: Council and staff also discussed related logistics — parking, shuttle/valet options, expanded outreach to Addison restaurants, youth programming, and methods to incentivize presale purchases. Morales asked council members to submit further feedback through the town’s document portal; staff said they would report preliminary numbers and a refined subsidy forecast as the 2025 budget process continues.