When the Ooltewah Harrison Education Foundation hosted the first Taste of Ooltewah and Harrison in 2015, Wallace A. Smith Elementary students were still playing on a 25-year-old playground. That inaugural year, the event had roughly 30 vendors, and Harrison Elementary students had not yet benefited from the iPads the nonprofit was able to provide with fundraising profits.
A petting zoo and horseback riding will also be featured.
This year, the organization is expecting 3,000 visitors during the event.
But as the third annual Taste Of Ooltewah and Harrison approaches May 7, officials with the nonprofit, also called D9 in reference to the five District 9 elementary schools it serves, are aiming to raise more than $15,000 and anticipate a crowd of 3,000.
This year, D9 Director Miranda Perez said, she hopes the more than 90 registered vendors will be enough to raise funds to provide support to the district's three other schools: Snow Hill, Wolftever and Ooltewah elementaries.
For event-goers, the $20 admittance fee purchases 10 tickets, which can be used to sample a variety of foods from restaurants across Chattanooga. Additionally, the day will feature a petting zoo, horseback riding, contests, games and non-food vendors.
"It's so great to know that we have these vendors coming back year after year," Perez said. "It's become a family tradition in our community."
Though D9 does not specify where District 9 elementaries allocate the funds they are given, each school has a wish list of items or upgrades needed. Wallace A. Smith was able to turn 2016's $5,000 donation into $10,000, thanks to a grant awarded to match the funds raised.
Earlier that year, D9 partnered with UnifiEd to provide each third-grader at Harrison Elementary with an iPad to improve math and reading skills, as well as keep an open line of communication between the students and teachers while outside of the classroom.
This year's Taste of Ooltewah and Harrison will take place on the annual event date of the first Sunday in May from 12:30-4 p.m., with a rain-out day of May 21.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at eventbrite.com, at any Little Debbie bakery or on the D9 Facebook page.