Residents try food, support education at 14th annual Taste of Shelby County

Published 10:31 am Monday, September 12, 2022

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By NOAH WORTHAM | Staff Writer

HOOVER – Inverness Country Club was crowded on Thursday, Sept. 8 as residents gathered to try a variety of dishes from across the county during the 14th annual Taste of Shelby County.

“We’ve got a great turnout,” said Bethany Ivey, executive director of the Shelby County Schools Education Fund. “We have a full lineup of vendors, so all of our tables were full this year and we’ve got lots of fantastic online auction items.”

The Taste of Shelby County serves as a fundraiser for the Shelby County Education Foundation grants program, in which they award funds to teachers across all 31 schools in the county’s school system.

Last year they awarded over $25,000 and they are looking to award more in the spring, she said.

There were vendors across Shelby County and a few outside of the county that provided services at the event. Some of the vendors that were present include: Half Shell Oyster House, Greek Street, East 59 Café, Jerusalem Grill and more.

Alongside the food caterers, there were also beverage vendors such as Good People Brewing Company and Novi Vineyards and Winery.

All concessions from vendors were included in the ticket price with the exception of drinks from the bar.

One vendor present at the event was Gumbo to Geaux from Calera.

“I just think that this is great. It’s just intimate enough where it feels like it’s a lot going on,” Gumbo to Geaux owner Etricia Robinson said. “It makes me even more excited about coming around and tasting everything.”

This year was the business’s first time at the Taste of Shelby County.

“It’s an opportunity to meet lots of different people, lots of genres of business,” Robinson said. “You get to network with people that could collaborate with you on different things. You also get to introduce your business to people who might not have seen you had you not been at the event.”