The annual Outer Banks Taste of the Beach weekend will be held March 28-31 this year. Hosted by the Outer Banks Restaurant Association (OBRA) for more than 30 years, this will be the 12th year of presenting the Outer Banks Taste of The Beach as a four-day-long event. With more than 50 individual events located from Corolla to Manteo, the festival will feature wine tastings, cooking classes, special menu presentations, tapas crawls, brewery tours and an array of other culinary delights and fun activities.

In addition to the numerous individual events hosted by member restaurants, this year’s Taste of the Beach will also feature three cornerstone group events, including Locals’ Night at the Soundside on Friday, March 29; the Sysco BBQ & Wings Showdown on March 30 and the Grand Tasting on Sunday, March 31. All three of the cornerstone events will be held at the waterfront Soundside Event Site in Nags Head.

Locals’ Night at the Soundside is a new event for the 2019 Taste of the Beach. “We’re calling it Locals’ Night, but it’s open to all zip codes,” says Dan Lewis, OBRA president. “All are welcome to this event, which features live entertainment, followed by a family-friendly movie under the stars.” This premiere event is free to the public with the donation of a canned good to the Outer Banks Beach Food Pantry and food and drinks will be available for purchase on site from a variety of local vendors.

The group events continue March 30 with the Sysco BBQ & Wings Showdown from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. As part of the festivities, more than a dozen local restaurants will be cooking pulled pork barbeque, ribs and zesty chicken wings, along with other smoked specialties that may include everything from barbecue tacos to barbecue shrimp. During the event, guests are encouraged to cast their votes for the best barbecue on the beach and an awards ceremony will be held at the end of the day to announce both the judges’ and people’s choice award winners.

To wrap up the 2019 Taste of the Beach weekend, the festival’s culminating Grand Tasting will be held from 12 to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 31. With 15 participating member restaurants vying for several awards over the course of the event, guests can also enjoy some longtime crowd favorites such as the Bartenders’ Bubbly Bash, where local mixologists compete for the best sparkling wine cocktail by collecting the most tips before donating all the proceeds directly to the Beach Food Pantry.

For more information about the 2019 Outer Banks Taste of the Beach, visit obxtasteofthebeach.com or contact Quinn Capps at obxtasteofthebeach@gmail.com.

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