Update, August 22, 2026: The Taste is coming back — organizer Mike Boyle has confirmed the 25th annual Taste of Douglas County for Thursday, August 19, 2027, at the Douglas County Events Center. Times, tickets and the vendor lineup are still to come.
One of Douglas County's longest-running food events is back for its 24th year. According to the official Taste of Douglas County website, the 2026 Taste returns on Thursday, August 20, 2026, from 5 to 8pm at the Douglas County Events Center in Castle Rock.
I went — here's how the 24th actually ate
First time at this one for me. There were a lot more people than I anticipated, and I ran into a few newsletter readers walking the floor, which is always the best part of these things.
What I ate: samples of the Love Stinks burger from Crave Real Burgers — my favorite burger spot right now, so no complaints there. A Philly cheesesteak. Mashed potatoes and a beef dish from Duke's Steakhouse out of Castle Pines. A mini Fancy Nancy from Chicken Salad Chick — chicken salad with apples, grapes and pecans — plus one of their cookies. Courtyard Social was handing out oysters and sampling a buffalo chicken dish that's coming to their menu soon — and since I clearly hadn't had enough sweets yet, I grabbed a brownie-chocolate thing from them too. And I spun the wheel at the Shake Shack table and walked off with coupons — good timing, since their Parker location just opened this month.
Mike Boyle himself was walking around with a Pizza Hut box handing out slices. Twenty-four years in, the founder is still personally passing out pizza.
If you judged the county's food scene by this night alone, you'd conclude our major food groups are pizza and ice cream — Granelli's, Little Caesar's and Pizza Hut on one side, Dairy Queen, Freddy's and Gelato & CO on the other. The locals in the mix were the highlight: Courtyard Social, Duke's, Crave, Honnibrook Meadery, plus Chicken Salad Chick and ViewHouse up from Centennial. I'd love to see even more local restaurants in the lineup for the 25th.
Berkenkotter Motors was handing out hot sauces and taking phone numbers for a mini ATV giveaway. Still waiting on my call.
The details
- What: The 24th Annual Taste of Douglas County
- When: Thursday, August 20, 2026, 5–8pm
- Where: Douglas County Events Center — an indoor, air-conditioned venue on the grounds of the Douglas County Fair in Castle Rock
- Tickets: $10 in advance, $20 at the door
The organizers note the events center is "the perfect venue for an event of this type" — indoor and air-conditioned, which in late August is no small thing.
What's included
Per the official site, one ticket covers the whole spread:
- Food samples from dozens of area restaurants and food-service establishments
- Beverages from Pepsi and others
- Live entertainment
- A live appearance from KNUS radio talk-show hosts
It's a graze-your-way-through-the-county format — a lot of local kitchens under one roof for a single evening. This year's sponsors include KNUS and South State Bank, with Pepsi providing beverages.
Tickets
Buying ahead saves you half: tickets are $10 in advance versus $20 at the door. Full details and advance tickets are on the official Taste of Douglas County website. You'll also find it on our events calendar.
Two big food tastings in one late summer
The Taste of Douglas County is one of two marquee food-festival tastings that landed in the county within weeks of each other this year. The other was Yelp's inaugural Taste of Parker Food Festival on Tuesday, September 15 at Parker Station — a sold-out 21+ tasting that doubled as a food drive. We were there; the recap has photos and the full vendor list. Together they bookend late summer with a lot of good eating. See both on our full guide to food and drink events across Douglas County.
And in between, Parker's cultural calendar delivers Fiesta Parker on Saturday, August 22 — an all-ages celebration of Latin food, music, and culture, with food from Cencalli Taqueria and Agaveria, Xatrucho, Nanixhe and more, at Parker Station.
More to do around Castle Rock
The Events Center sits on the Douglas County Fair grounds, so it's easy to fold the Taste into a bigger local outing:
- The venue is the same grounds behind the Douglas County Fair & Rodeo
- Chasing local flavor year-round? See where to buy fresh, local meat in Douglas County and the county's farmers markets
- For everything else on this season, browse the county-wide Summer of Fun guide
- And for the whole food-and-drink calendar in one place, see our guide to food and drink events across Douglas County
Love a great food night out? So do we.
A room full of local kitchens is our idea of a good evening — and we host our own dinners, too. If good food with good company is your thing, pull up a chair:
- Dinner Club — rotating small-group dinners at standout local restaurants in Castle Rock, Parker, and Lone Tree
- Couples Dinner — a night out for couples looking to meet other couples
- KB Sunset Supper Club — our farm-to-table dinner series on the ranch in Castle Rock
Taste of Douglas County 2026 (24th Annual)
Douglas County Events Center · Douglas County Fair grounds, Castle Rock, CO
Thursday, August 20, 2026 · 5–8pm · $10 advance / $20 at the door
tasteofdouglascounty.com
Reported by DougCo Social on August 3, 2026, from the official Taste of Douglas County website. Details and ticket prices may change — confirm on the official site before you go.