GREENWICH VILLAGE — Foodies who don't want to shell out $50 for a ticket to the Taste of the Village can now post photos to social media to win free admission to the food festival.
The Village Alliance, a local business booster organization, is offering the two free tickets to the annual event on Sept. 10, where people can sample a range of wine and food from more than 30 neighborhood restaurants and bars. The festival is a fundraiser to support Washington Square Park, and pays for planting flowers, cleaning the park and providing safety services.
To win the free tickets, the Village Alliance has asked people to tweet, Instagram or share on Facebook a photo of their favorite dish from their favorite Greenwich Village restaurant with the hashtag #TasteoftheVillage. The deadline is Sept. 5 and the Alliance will pick a winner that same day.
This is the 13th year the event is being held. Village Alliance director William Kelley said since the event's inception, Taste of the Village has raised nearly $500,000 for the park.
"Taste of the Village is a festive way to ensure the park stays beautiful for generations to come," Kelley said.
This year's festival includes favorites from previous years, like Otto, Greenwich Project and Burger Joint, as well as newbies like the family-owned Malaysian restaurant Rasa, which just opened late last year, and Horchata, the Mexican restaurant that replaced BLT Burger on Sixth Avenue a few months ago.
The $50 tickets are available on the Village Alliance website or from the Village Alliance storefront at 8 E. Eighth St.
Social media-savvy photographers who want to get free tickets can post photos from as many restaurants as they want but cannot submit more than one photo per restaurant, organizers said.
The winner will be selected at random and will receive a pair of free tickets to the event.
Taste of the Village will be held under the Washington Square arch from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 10. For more information, check the Alliance's website.
