GRUB OUT Make a note of the upcoming Food Festival season

JOE NOTTER: FESTIVAL KING FOOD

WRITER: MARISA PATWA

Tu r n t o p a g e 1 0 t o c h e c k o u t m o r e l o c a l f e s t i v a l s s u i t e d f o r every type of foodie enthusiast

PHOTOS COURTESY OF: JOE NOTTER

Joe Notter is the king of taking a popular food and hosting an entire festival around it — from donuts to wings, stromboli, BBQ, tacos, piz- zas and burgers — the mastermind behind EvansvilleEvents.com has done it all in just three short years.

The entrepreneur first started his enterprise in 2011, letting people know about what was going on in Evansville through his online presence. From there, his involve- ment spiraled into hosting his own festivals for foodies in 2017. Just this past January, he hosted the 3rd Annual Evansville Wing- Fest at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 25, which included live music, mechan- ical bull rides and wing samples from the hottest restaurants and bars in the tri-state. “There are so many parents with kids who want family friendly events,” Notter said. “So, we try to reach out to that audi- ence.”

Back by popular demand is the Food Truck Festival, taking place on June 7 at Bosse Field.

“I think the best way to spell it out is that people are looking for more experiences,” Notter said. “And we all have to eat.”

Evansville Burger Week is new this year, and is taking place from March 1-7. Warrick County’s own Prime Time Pub & Grill is participating.

“With bread type events, it’s hard to keep the product as good because they have to bring the dough to the festival and it just hardens,” Notter said. “That’s why we did Pizza Week and why we’ll be doing Burger Week.”

Visitors will be able to download “pass- ports” allowing purchases of $5 burgers all week long. For more information, visit EvansvilleBurgerWeek.com.

Notter is also looking into changing last year’s popular donut festival into a more broad brunch festival – with drink favorites, including mimosas and a bloody mary bar.

For the seasoned food festival planner, the excitement is in bringing people togeth- er, from the consumers to the businesses.

“We are creating a synergy of, ‘Hey, we’re supporting each other,’” Notter said. “Versus cutthroat competition that exists everywhere.”

In the end, it all comes down to every- one’s shared love for food.

“Food is a movement,” Notter said. “Different people love different food. Some people love, tacos, some love wings, some love cheeseburgers. It’s about finding the fanatics and getting them engaged.”

FESTIVAL FRENZY

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Evansville Burger Week: March 1-7 (participating locations*) Evansville Food Truck Festival: June 7 at Bosse Field Evansville Taco and Beer Festival: May 2 from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Evansville BBQ Festival: June 26-27 from 5-8 p.m. Evansville Taco Festival: Sept. 26 in downtown Evansville Evansville Brunch Fest: TBA