BAKER CITY — It’s once again time to munch your way down Main Street for the annual Taste of Baker event on Oct. 5, 4-7 p.m. in downtown Baker City.

As many as 1,500 people head downtown for this festival to taste sample-sized entrees from local eateries.

And your cash is no good — food and drinks must be purchased with tokens.

You will, however, need money to purchase the tokens, which are available in advance at Ryder Bros., The Cheese Fairy and Charlie’s Deli in Baker City, and at Elkhorn Media Group in La Grande.

Presale tokens are cash only and sold in bundles of 20 for $25 or 100 for $125.

Tokens will also be sold downtown during the event, for cash or card, and cost $1.25 each, 20 for $25 or 100 for $125.

Those planning to attend are encouraged to purchase tokens ahead of time, said Ariel Reker, executive director of Baker City Downtown, which organizes Taste of Baker.

“Beat the lines,” she said.

The food

This year brings 38 vendors to the event.

“Which is eight more than last year. All your favorites plus some news ones,” Reker said.

Some of the new offerings include The Cabyn, Towin’ Tipsy mobile bar, Campbell’s Catering and Sweets, Spud Guts, MC Taco Bus, and Brick and Mortar Co. featuring Bingham Beef and Sagebrush and Beyond’s new Mountain Jim’s gourmet cotton candy.

Menu items range in price from one to five tokens.

Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll find:

• Barbecue ribs from Barley Brown’s.
• Desserts by Jackie’s Savory Sweets.
• Tamales by Delicioso.
• Drinking chocolate at Peterson’s Chocolates.
• Assorted candy at Ryder Bros.
• Mini cocktails at Glacier 45.

Full menus will be available the night of the event.

Reker said BCD will again set out tables and chairs along Main Street, which is closed to traffic during the evening, as well as wheelchair ramps along the sidewalks.

The tokens

Every token sold supports two entities: the restaurant serving the food and Baker City Downtown.

For each token, $1 is paid to the restaurant and the remaining 25 cents goes to BCD.

The 2023 event sold nearly $34,000 in tokens.

BCD events

Taste of Baker is one of the annual events organized by Baker City Downtown, a nonprofit with the mission to “preserve and enhance the vitality and character of our community through the beautification, promotion, and development of downtown Baker City.”

BCD holds wine walks on the third Thursday of each month from March through November, with a portion of the proceeds supporting a different local group each time.

The next one, on Oct. 17, is partnering with KBZR, a new community radio station in Baker City.

Baker City Downtown also organizes the Festival of Trees and Twinkle in Time on the first weekend in December.

The Festival of Trees features a Thursday preview night (new this year) and a live auction gala on Friday with proceeds funding grants to community organizations.

Also, the festival’s Family Day on Saturday features make-and-take crafts with Crossroads Carnegie Art Center and various activities hosted by the Festival of Trees Community Grant awardees.

Twinkle in Time features BCD’s Cookie Crawl, the 4-H Christmas Bazaar organized by OSU Extension-Baker County, photos with Santa courtesy of the Baker City Kiwanis Club, and the Twilight Parade and lighting of the community tree sponsored by the Baker County Chamber of Commerce.