The 19th annual Taste of Montgomery County is planned from noon to 9 p.m. Aug. 22.
It is one of the area’s most anticipated annual festivals, but the Taste of Montgomery County also fulfills an important role: the Taste is the largest fundraiser for the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, located on the grounds in Crawfordsville where Lew Wallace penned his masterwork, Ben-Hur.
Make sure you bring your appetite. Local food and beverage vendors serving specialties throughout the day include: Acai Bowls, Gordo’s Food Truck, Swick’s Kitchen & Emporium, China Inn, The Juniper Spoon, Smokin Melts & Rollin Dough, Keke’s Kravings, Greeks Pizzeria, Wildcat Creek Winery, Klooz Brewz and more.
This year’s Taste features three musical acts. Mark Stansbury, a performer who plays country music in venues around Indianapolis, will perform 1-3 p.m.; The Big Swing Band will bring the energy of the Big Band Era and more to the stage from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.; and Common Ground, a group who plays classic rock to country to today’s top hits and everything else in between, will take the stage 7-9 p.m.
The site of the Taste, the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum at 200 Wallace Ave., was once General Wallace’s backyard, lying just north of his home on Wabash Avenue. Many people attending the Taste don’t realize that the area near the General’s bronze statue, where hundreds of Taste-goers will congregate to hear the great live music and enjoy amazing food beneath the shade of stately trees, was once the site where General Wallace set up his rocking chair under the spread of a giant beech tree, writing a significant portion of Ben-Hur.
As a National Historic Landmark, the General’s Study building is one of the gems of Crawfordsville and has seen visitors from around the globe for more than 100 years. The Study is filled with the General’s original artifacts and personal memorabilia, most of which have been in the Museum’s collection since Wallace’s death in 1905.
Volunteer opportunities are available for this year’s TASTE. Volunteers receive free entry to the TASTE and their choice of a TASTE T-shirt or food tickets. Those interested in volunteering should visit http://www.tasteofmontgomerycounty.com/volunteers/ to sign up or call the Museum at 765-362-5769. Tickets for the Taste are $5 and will go on sale Monday. Admission on the day of the Taste is $8.
All revenues from admission sales at this year’s Taste will fund the Museum’s extensive educational programming and annual exhibit. Museum programming in 2026 includes the ongoing Hoosier Authors Book Club, the Dr. Howard Miller Lecture Series, and the Hoosier Author Fair. Information about fall programming is online at www.ben-hur.com/events/ .
For more information, visit www.TasteOfMontgomeryCounty.com.
The Lew Wallace Study would like to thank Title Sponsors (to date) of this year’s event: Acuity Brands; Dr. Howard Miller; Hoosier Heartland State Bank; Journal Review; Market Street Wealth Management; McGowan Insurance Group; Montgomery County Tourism Commission; Nucor Steel Indiana; and Tri-County Bank & Trust.
Contributing sponsors include: Allen Monument Company; Bennett Boehning & Clary; CEL&P; Cook Home Services; D-Patrick Crawfordsville; Henthorn, Harris, Weliever; nPrint; Rusty Carter & Family; Sanders Funeral Care; Valero Renewables Linden; Wabash College; Walden Transport & Recycle; and WCDQ-WIMC-WCVL.
Supporting sponsors include: Arni’s of Crawfordsville; B&L Engineering; Campbell Ag Services; The Juniper Spoon; Judith Kleine Architect; Kyle Gobel Attorney at Law; Lakeside Book Company; Morrison Realty; Northridge Chiropractic; Pace Dairy; and Swift Land Consulting.
