Press Releases

Taste of Vail Refocuses Efforts for 2012 to Support Original Mission Statement

CREATED: 2011-11-28 09:06 AM

Vail, Colo. - November 23, 2011 - As the Taste of Vail gears up for its 22nd annual food and wine festival in April, the organization is rededicating itself to its original mission statement by not only hosting the iconic event, but creating additional programming and promotional opportunities to help elevate Vail's image as a world-class food and beverage destination.

"Taste of Vail is an idea, a platform for promoting the community - not just an annual event," said new board member Greg Moffet. "The annual spring food and wine event will continue to be our cornerstone activity to promote the Vail lifestyle. We are continually looking at more ways to promote the community's food and beverage assets throughout the year. This may include a Web site focused on the restaurant community, special dinner's featuring local chefs, smaller events or promotional opportunities in the Front Range or on a national level."

When restaurateurs in the community formed the Taste of Vail in 1990, the organization's original mission statement was to "enhance Vail's image, positioning and reputation as a world-class international resort with a serious commitment to fine food and to promote recognition of the Vail lifestyle."

As Vail's reputation for fine dining continues to evolve with new internationally popular offerings such as Matsuhisa, regional favorite Elway's and the growing national spotlight that continues to shine on Restaurant Kelly Liken, the organization determined that this is the time to elevate what Taste of Vail stands for.

"We need to walk before we run, but we believe now is the time to extend what Taste of Vail means to the community by giving us a platform to talk about the world-class food and beverage scene," added new board member Allison Krausen. "Over the next few months we'll look for additional ways to enliven the Vail lifestyle under Taste of Vail messaging to extend the concept beyond the annual spring food and wine festival. We're excited to further mobilize the restaurant community to see how we can best do this."

The organization, which was incorporated as a chamber of commerce to promote Vail, will utilize funds raised from the food and wine festival in April to support ongoing promotional opportunities.

"There's always been confusion in the community about the charitable giving side of Taste of Vail," said board member Doug Wooldrige. "We always like to give back to local charitable organizations but our main focus will be to raise funds to continue to promote the restaurant community on a year-round basis."

New Logo
Taste of Vail also unveiled a new logo and tagline to better illustrate the organization's mission. The logo depicts forks in the form of a circle, which represents the culinary message of Vail in a sun-like formation giving a nod to the 300+ days of sunshine the community receives. A shade of Vail's blue logo was incorporated as well to integrate elements of the overall Vail brand.

A tagline - Elevate your Palate - was added to the logo to illustrate how the organization is committed to enhancing the community by promoting the Vail lifestyle through various food and beverage assets.

"As we continue to refine the Taste of Vail brand, it was time to recalibrate the visual representation of the organization as well," said Randy Martinez, new Taste of Vail board member and owner of the marketing agency which worked on the brand identity. "The new logo means different things to different people but in the end, we believe it's a more modern interpretation of the Taste of Vail brand and where the organization is going in the future."

The 2012 Taste of Vail is scheduled for April 5-7. Tickets to the 22nd annual event are available online at www.tasteofvail.com.

Hotels or restaurants interested in getting more involved in the 2012 Taste of Vail are encouraged to contact event coordinator Angela Mueller at (970) 401-3320. The board also welcomes additional community participation in Taste of Vail and suggests that anyone interested in giving of his or her time on the Board of Directors or as a volunteer, contact Mueller as well.

For more information on the 22nd Annual Taste of Vail, please visit www.tasteofvail.com or call (970) 401-3320.

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Media Contact: Kristin Yantis, Malen Yantis Public Relations, (775) 351-7904, kyantis@myprco.com