DNA’s Taste of Northampton is a ‘Gift of Love’
By Melissa Karen Sances
Published in Northampton Living | September 2026
The city’s popular celebration of its many restaurants returns to Northampton this month with a broader scope. The Taste of Northampton will be a celebration of local food, music and community — a “gift of love,” according to event Chair Karen Carswell — from individuals, businesses and nonprofits to fans of all three.
On Saturday, Sept. 12 and Sunday, Sept. 13, locals and visitors alike can enjoy Northampton’s quirky creativity from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., respectively. A total of 47 organizations will occupy 10-by-10-foot booths behind Thornes Marketplace, where every hour, on the hour, musicians will play on two stages.
The event, organized by the all-volunteer Downtown Northampton Association (DNA), is free, but attendees are encouraged to support the nonprofit via a QR code at the ID check station or on posters around the festival. Throughout the weekend, people can come and go as they please.
“CLINIC Alternative Medicines will be doing treatments, and Northampton Community Rowing will be bringing their ergs [indoor rowing machines],” said Carswell, who stressed that the Taste is an opportunity for the public to interact with a variety of community institutions.
“Now is the time to support our restaurants, artists, musicians and small business owners — the entrepreneurs who have continued to invest in keeping downtown thriving and vibrant.”
The Taste began in 1990 and had a successful run until 2004, when it “grew so large and so popular that it became too expensive to stage and was retired,” according to the Boston Globe.
In 2022, Northampton received $50,000 in economic recovery funds and the mayor’s office teamed up with the DNA to hold an outdoor event that would help revive businesses that survived the pandemic.
“Everyone stepped up to throw one of the most amazing parties I’ve seen downtown,” wrote Mayor Gina Louise Sciarra in a 2022 op-ed in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Carswell noted that Saturday is usually the busier day of the weekend-long event that attracts about 5,000 people. So this year, the DNA is teaming up with Miles for Music for a Sunday fundraiser that could be a big second-day draw. The 8.1-mile race, relay and walk to support music venues The Drake and the Iron Horse will end at the Taste, and registrants will get a food voucher to use at the event.
Carswell said that the timing of the event — which kicks off a series of local fall festivals including Flo Fest on Sept. 19 and the Northampton Jazz Festival on Sept. 25 and 26 — is key. “The fall is so beautiful here,” she said. “Whether you’re looking at schools or you’re here for your first semester; or you’re starting a new job; or you’re looking to work in the food, music or retail industry, it’s a great time to celebrate Northampton.”
To learn more, visit nohodna.org/the-taste-of-northampton.
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