44 culinary options offered at A Taste of Downtown June 15

Tune up your taste buds and get an earful of tunes in mid-June, when A Taste of Downtown aims to captivate Carson City.

That is the clarion call of the event’s organizers as Advocates to End Domestic Violence once again will host the event, at 5:30 p.m. June 15. Festivities will stretch to the midnight hour, though food service ends at 9 p.m. This 2013 version boasts 44 food vendors and 10 bands, organizers say.

“This is a showcase to see our downtown at its best,” said Lisa Lee, director of Advocates to End Domestic Violence. “That night, you’re out of your car and you’re walking on historical streets that Mark Twain walked on.”

Unless, added Lee, you prefer leisurely riding to reach the array of food and find a favorite band. There will be two trolleys and rickshaws this year for those preferring such transport, she said. Tasting opportunities will stretch along 13 downtown blocks on Curry Street from Telegraph Square to 10th Street.

“Downtown shops and galleries will be open and offering raffles, as well as showcasing their merchandise,” organizers said in a news release.

The food isn’t sold separately, and participants wanting tasty morsels must have purchased A Taste of Downtown tickets. Organizers encourage getting them before the event, as only 2,000 are being sold.

A Taste of Downtown began in 1995, when a fundraiser for the organization included 500 tickets, seven restaurants and a single band.

This year’s participating restaurants run the alphabetic gamut from A (A Catered Affair) to almost Z (Yang’s Kitchen). Music is by The Cutters, Mark Sexton Band, The Tahoe Dance Band, Remember When, Smooth Two, Millennium Bugs, Mark Castro Band, Hired Gunz, Seasons of Insanity and Ten Dollar Pony.

Funds raised by A Taste of Downtown go for services to those coping with the effects of domestic violence.