Milpitas: Around 20,000 attend fourth annual…
Milpitas: Around 20,000 attend fourth annual International Festival & BBQ
By Aliyah Mohammed | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 25, 2017 at 4:19 p.m. | UPDATED: May 26, 2017 at 5:35 a.m.
The Milpitas International Festival & BBQ returned last weekend with more barbecue, entertainment and fun for the whole family.
The fourth annual fest, put on by Milpitas Chamber of Commerce and co-sponsored by City of Milpitas, drew in approximately 20,000 attendees over Saturday and Sunday at its new location on Alder Drive between McCarthy Boulevard and Tasman Drive on the Cisco Systems campus, according to organizers.
Apart from offering festivalgoers the opportunity to sample traditional and international barbecue and other foods, attendees on Saturday — along with a panel of judges — voted on which public safety department served up the best barbecue.
The Milpitas Police Officers Association, led by Sergeant Matthew Miller, took first place for their tri-trip, with Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department (last year's winner) falling to second and Milpitas Firefighters Local 1699 taking third. The Fraternal Order of Police also participated in the cook-off for the first year and came in last place.
The festival also included a car show, two entertainment stages featuring local talent, more than 50 artisans selling their wares, community and business booths, activities and rides for kids and domestic wines from local wineries for adults.
Out of 15 participants in the car show, three winners were selected: "Best of Show" went to Walter Keeh's 1927 Packard Roadster, "American Muscle" went to Tim Watson's 1965 Cobra, and "People's Choice" went to Ramon Coria's 1937 Ford Roadster.
Mark Tiernan, the chamber's CEO and festival chair, said one of the highlights of the event was an earthquake simulator in the kids area brought in by the Milpitas Office of Emergency Services.
"This is a community event, it's not just a fundraiser for the chamber. It's an opportunity for the community to come together as a city and enjoy some great music and food," Tiernan said. "There is more that brings us together than holds us apart and in these times it's important to have events like this."
Tiernan said the chamber was pleased to have the participation of international chambers of commerce to appeal to all members of the Milpitas community. This year, attendees included the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce, Filipino American Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley, the Milpitas Sister Cities Commission and the India Community Center.
Tiernan added that he was "grateful" to the City of Milpitas, Cisco Systems, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Murphy Crossing for their support in putting on the event. Still, Tiernan said the chamber will look to address parking concerns that arose at the event.
"Some people were concerned about having to walk a few blocks, but we will work to improve that," he said.
Tiernan added the event will also look to increase the number of barbecue offerings and possibly add more cook-off barbecue competitions and chili events to next year's festival.
"We got a lot of compliments on all the barbecue restaurants," he said.
But Tiernan noted soaring temperatures that hit the mid-90s on Saturday may have kept some people away, but food vendors sold well on Sunday.
This week, Tiernan said that an analysis of the total profit for the chamber from the event was not complete.
"We did better financially than last year," Tiernan said, adding the chamber had not received monies from artisans, businesses and sponsors yet.
Tiernan said the chamber was going to go over lessons learned with the people involved in the festival and welcomed community input to make the festival better. Feedback can be addressed to Tiernan and sent to info@milpitaschamber.com.
Aliyah Mohammed | Reporter, Web and Social Media Coordinator
Aliyah Mohammed covers local government, education, breaking news and community issues in Milpitas and Fremont.
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