Power of a Quality Festival and Preserving Community Enrichment

Affordable Escape to the Good Life! Transport yourself to a unique food and entertainment festival

Revive Your Senses: Discover a feast for your taste buds, ears, and eyes with an International twist!

Power of Festivals and Preserving Community Enrichment Ideals

Our Definition of  The Good Life  \the gud lÎfe\  adj, n, v  1: a relative terminology used by Taste of Durham  to create platforms and experiential gathering places to explore vast and accessible opportunities to enjoy life. 2 : These are pathways and bridges toward respecting cultural diversity, gaining awareness of community members beyond geographical boundaries, and becoming a participant to create solutions to enrich lives.

The festival format is inspired by the diversity of Durham County and serves many communities with deliberate, inclusive, and varied programming. The diversity is obvious in Durham, and more reasons and reminders to respect and appreciate international and cultural neighbors that are seen every day. This unique festival is infused with international arts and cultural experiences, eclectic food sampling, an opportunity to experience a wide variety of music genres, and an international dance showcase.

Well produced festivals can synthesize happiness, offer the essence of quality of life, and revive our “sense of place” (feeling you get when you belong somewhere). This welcoming and inclusive approaches are reasons people will be drawn to an area and contribute to the economic cycle of a thriving community. The festival programming is designed to welcomes residents and businesses from all areas of Durham, extended Triangle communities, and beyond. During challenging economic times and constant reminders of division, exclusion, and varying levels of hostility in the daily news, working together and contributing to the quality of life for people in vast community groups is responsible, smart business, and it nurtures the ideals of building healthy communities.  

The Community Chest (TCC) is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit philanthropic organization that supports community interests and enrichment through innovative and distinctive project-based initiatives which include but are not limited to arts focused festivals and niche programs. The heart of TCC’s mission is The Cycle of Giving: The synergistic effect of giving back to the community, building stronger community relations, supporting economic development as it pertains to community growth, and arts and cultural enrichment and education. Simply stated, "Taking care of the community is taking care of business success which is the core of a vibrant community". 

Power of a festival: Taste of Durham Project Description and Highlights:

• Established vast relationships with businesses, corporations, and organizations: essence of community engagement.
• Built a strong reputation and foundation for continued success: building a destination to showcase Durham.
• Established a large and growing audience base beyond the festival attendees: extended community outreach and promote community connections.
• Designed as a platform that also supports economic development with marketing and visibility opportunities to reach a large and diverse audience base for businesses, participants, companies, and organizations.
• “Giving Back”: Gave participating restaurants a high percentage of revenue, offered contributions to other nonprofits, and supported other community outreach initiatives, etc.
• Created a high caliber destination to support “quality of living” activities and experiences in the Triangle area and welcome existing and new community members, multicultural communities, etc.
• TOD has maintained an affordable general admission cost over the years to experience quality live entertainment, high-end hospitality, and arts.
• The “Art is Alive",  Main Stage, Performance Showcases sections also focus on supporting known and emerging musicians and artists in a challenging industry and serves as a quality platform to showcase their talents.
• Provides access to quality live performances for diverse and multicultural groups and celebrates international cultures and diversity.
• TOD has gained regional and national recognition and extensive media coverage, and reached a high-profile status in the Triangle area and other regions in a short period of time.
• TOD has built a positive reputation and developed self-sustaining funding from grassroots stages.