The Coronado Junior Woman’s Club is an all-volunteer, female-led organization dedicated to promoting the social welfare and civic activities in Coronado, and A Taste of Coronado is one its signature events.
Michelle Munns, the Taste of Coronado’s chair, has led the event the past three years.
Before that, she was a restaurant coordinator who worked with the restaurants and businesses.
She said that as the chair, she started putting in work for this year’s event in June and volunteers are coming together to take care of every little detail—the banners, balloons, pop-up tents, check-in locations, DJ’s and more.
It’s all of us coming together for the greater good.”
-Michelle Munns, Taste of Coronado chair.
“It’s all volunteer women that are putting this event on, and it’s not a big event planner or food festival like other places are,” Munns said. “It’s all of us just coming together for the greater good.”
Self-guided culinary journey
Ticket purchasers will explore the local culinary landscape of Coronado on Oct. 11 with a self-guided journey, while raising money for charitable organizations.
For those who purchase the $55 tickets, the event will start at one of the four check-in locations where participants will receive a tasting card.
Since 800 participants are expected, Munns said the check in locations (at the ferry landing, Rotary Park, the Hotel del Coronado, and Clayton’s Bistro) will help disperse the flow of people around the island.
The tasting card will have the 40 different restaurant participants listed, according to Munns. Featured local cuisine can be sampled from participating restaurants like Seréa, The Henry and the Little Frenchie.
Trolley’s will be looping the town from 5 to 10 p.m., so participants can hop on the trolley or walk to each location.
After the event, the Islander will be opening their doors as the afterparty for the evening. The Islander will be giving a portion of their proceeds back to the beneficiaries, and anyone can attend, whether they’ve attended A Taste of Coronado or not.
The Hotel del Coronado is the presenting sponsor for the event.
Proceeds to help STEP and KMAC
Organizers say 100% of the proceeds from the event will go back to the community, both to the beneficiaries—STEP and KMAC—and to the consistent organizations they fundraise for, like the Coronado Schools Foundation.
Jamie McArthur started KMAC, an adaptive sailing foundation, which is named after his son, Lt. Junior Grade Kyle McArthur, who was involved in a fatal automobile accident in 2013.
Munns said the club is honored to name KMAC as one of this year’s beneficiaries, and a couple of the club members went to high school with Kyle.
McArthur has been a special needs dad for 37 years and taught special education before starting the foundation. He is also a retired Coast Guard officer.
KMAC: Wants to get bigger for outreach
The KMAC foundation gives people who are disabled the opportunity to experience the open-water freedom of sailing through adaptive technologies on board their four sailboats.
“So the foundation was formed to support that,” McArthur said about the foundation’s vision for accessible sailing. “We want to get bigger and do a lot grander things…and we also do community outreach.”
McArthur said the foundation survives on donations and volunteers.
“There’s absolutely no cost to the participants, McArthur said. “Nobody gets paid; nobody’s charged. So, that’s why fundraising is such a key component of this, because without that, we can’t pay our bills.”
STEP is second beneficiary
STEP, a program that works to build financial self-sufficiency among junior active duty enlisted members and recently enlisted veterans facing financial crisis, will be the second beneficiary of the event’s proceeds.
Munns said many people from out of state fly in to attend the event, and support the cause.
“I love that people love this event,” Munns said. “It makes it so great to be a part of it because it’s important to them, and it’s important to the community that our great restaurants and businesses are highlighted.”
Tickets are on sale for $55 and more information about the event can be found at https://www.atasteofcoronado.com/
