PITTSTON — The city is known for festivals, parades and great food and on Nov. 3, the Pittston Memorial Library hosted the seventh annual Taste of Pittston, showcasing Greater Pittston’s food and wine.
Twenty-five vendors set up at the library’s John P. Cosgrove Center to display food, wine and beer samples from local restaurants, caterers, bakeries, breweries and wineries for all to experience. A best red and white wine award was handed out at the end of the day.
According to Patricia Joyce, Pittston Memorial Library director, it’s one of the major fundraisers the library hosts during the year.
“Everyone volunteers for the event, including students from Pittston Area,” she said. “Everyone that makes anything volunteers to make it to raise money for the library.”
Lisa Joyce, a member of the library board of trustee, has been chairing the event since the it began. “All proceeds go towards operational costs,” she said. “We like to sell 200 tickets each year to raise about $5,000 for us.”
She went on to say there were 22 vendors, including homemade brewers, wine makers, Susquehanna Brewing Co., as well as many ethnic foods, Italian foods and desserts. Guitarist Mike Dougherty provided music.
The event started as an outdoor event under a large tent until the Cosgrove Center was built, moving the operation indoors. “We’re happy it’s inside,” Lisa Joyce added.
Homemade wine makers Leo Sperrazza and David Fusco from Broad Street Winery were on hand to distribute samples of their award-winning red and white Old Bridge wine selection. The duo have been participating in the Taste of Pittston for five years.
“I love participating in the community and helping the library,” Sperrazza said. “It’s just a lot of fun and it’s all hand-crafted and bottled in Pittston, Pa.”
“There’s nothing for us to promote because our wine is not for sale,” Fusco said. “It’s really a labor of love.”
Broad Street Winery received the “Best White Wine Award” and John Donahue’s Linden Tree Winery took home the “Best Red Wine Award” for 2018.
Staton Meade, of Jenkins Twp., has attended the Taste of Pittston every year. “It’s very, very nice. It’s a community event; we like the fact that our local people get a chance to show off their wines that work so hard on them,” Meade said. “We have an opportunity to taste so many of the vendors’ foods. I think it’s even bigger this year.”
